LEARNER PORTFOLIO

IB CLASS OF 2023

Figure 1: (Wang)
 Table of Contents
LEARNER PORTFOLIO .........................................................................................................................1
IB CLASS OF 2023 ...............................................................................................................................1
MARIAN KHUBEIS ..............................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE OF L&L .............................................................................................4
TEXT 1: THINGS FALL APART ............................................................................................................................... 5
Igbo Cultural context ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Imperialism, colonialism & postcolonialism ....................................................................................................... 6
Summary of Things Fall Apart: ............................................................................................................................ 7
Chapter 1 discussion + Questions ........................................................................................................................ 8
Note: In order to prepare for the oral and paper 2 for the upcoming exams, I summarized and analyzed
several different chapters and sections within the novel, whilst extracting the most essential quotes in my
opinion post analysis. ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 1-2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Characterization of Okonkwo ............................................................................................................................ 13
Homework Things Fall Apart ............................................................................................................................. 13
Highlighted extract chapter 8............................................................................................................................ 18
What is a Global issue? ...................................................................................................................................... 19
Chapter 12 & 13 Notes: ...................................................................................................................................... 20
Chapter 14 & 15 Notes: ...................................................................................................................................... 21
Chapter 16 & 17: ................................................................................................................................................ 21
Chapter 18 & 19: ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Chapter 20 & 21: ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Up to 25: ............................................................................................................................................................. 23
Reflection after finishing the Novel (p1, p2, p3) ............................................................................................... 23
Symbolism: ......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Practice reflection & Formative Reflection ....................................................................................................... 26
Research Essay (Miss Melinda) - Notes from the Library: ................................................................................ 31
Research Essay preliminary plan ....................................................................................................................... 33
Final Research Essay: ......................................................................................................................................... 35
INDIVIDUAL ORAL UNIT: .................................................................................................................................. 37
Structure of an Individual Oral .......................................................................................................................... 37
Writing workshop .............................................................................................................................................. 38
BOW 1: Men’s Health Magazine ....................................................................................................................... 39
BOW 2: Zaire’s paintings ................................................................................................................................... 42
Summative Oral Script: ...................................................................................................................................... 43
Terminology: ...................................................................................................................................................... 46
TEXT 2: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN ....................................................................................................................... 47
Summary of the play .......................................................................................................................................... 47
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN QUESTIONS.............................................................................................................. 48
Act 1 Summary: .................................................................................................................................................. 49
Act 2 Summary: .................................................................................................................................................. 49
Act 3 Summary: .................................................................................................................................................. 50
Reflection After Finishing the play: ................................................................................................................... 50
Symbolism .......................................................................................................................................................... 51
Thematic concepts: ............................................................................................................................................ 51
What is paper two ............................................................................................................................................. 51
Formative + feedback ........................................................................................................................................ 53
Pre-summative prep .......................................................................................................................................... 57
Paper 2 first Summative + reflection ................................................................................................................. 62
Paper 2 second summative + reflection ............................................................................................................ 63
BOW 3: Mustafa Hassona Photographs: .......................................................................................................... 64
Photography terms ............................................................................................................................................ 66
 Oral Summative ................................................................................................................................................. 67
Feminism Introduction: ...................................................................................................................................... 72
Dramatic monologue: ........................................................................................................................................ 73
Poetry terms:...................................................................................................................................................... 74
Poem Ms. Midas: ............................................................................................................................................... 74
Poem Circe:......................................................................................................................................................... 79
Poem Medusa .................................................................................................................................................... 80
Poem Ms. Beast: (annotated in comments) ..................................................................................................... 81
Poem Little Red Cap: (annotated in comments) ............................................................................................... 83
Bodies of work.................................................................................................................................................... 85
Gloria Steinem & Ms. Magazine ...................................................................................................................................... 85
Class Choice of BOW......................................................................................................................................................... 86
MOCK ORAL ................................................................................................................................................. 87
Text 4: Great Gatsby .......................................................................................................................................... 95
Introduction to the course of L&L
The Language and Literature course will entail the studying of different mediums of texts whether
literary, non-literary as well as visual and performance style texts, and to evaluate through critical
thinking applied throughout the reading of the texts understand the multiple perspectives and
comprehending the ways in which language helps articulate a particular style of thinking.

The course will particularly add emphasis on the large range of the literary and non-literary texts of
various mediums, through analyzing the communicative acts throughout the literary structure and
different textual types as well as exploring the context in which these texts were published in order to
achieve a wholistic view of the nature of the text, and the influences from the writer’s experience,
culture and identity, in order to properly carry out the necessary assessments by the end of the two
year course which include:
• Paper 1: the analysis of non-literary works
• Paper 2: the compare and contrast of two of the literary texts taken during the course
• Internal (individual oral): a 15-minute oral which is broken up into a 10-minute presentation
and 5-minute Q&A which would explore a particular transnational global issue that pertains to
both a literary text and body of work.

Expectations of the course:

Since this is the first week of the Language and literature course, I am still attempting to acclimate to
the vast leap from MYP style English to DP language and literature: A. Since I am newly beginning with
the course, I am still not completely familiar with all it entails, however after the presentation carried
out by the teacher at the beginning of the week, regarding the course breakdown, I have a few
expectations of what the course would be about, below are some of the followings:
• In order to gain a comprehensive view of language and literature, I am expecting to cover a
wide range of texts from different periods, styles, cultures (in order to further the mission of a
global citizen), and in different forms like photographs, paintings, advertisements (non-literary),
and novels, plays and poetry from a literary perspective.
• Skills in interpretation, analysis and evaluation will also be challenged and heightened to gain a
new understanding of texts.
• Through the IO (individual oral): I will learn to formulate global and local issues and link them
in a way to correlate with the formation of the BOW (bodies of work) with a transnational idea.

My goals by the end of the course:

Just looking at the huge gap from MYP to DP, I have several goals in order to better improve my
capabilities within English and attain the highest level within my capabilities. These goals are as follows:
• To improve the pace at which I can analyze a text and extract the main thematic statements
and global issues, as a significant challenge I faced within MYP was organizing my time and since
the workload demand is higher, I must work on this.
• I must improve my analytical vocabulary in order to articulate my ideas in essays more clearly
to the examiner.
• I must improve my ability to be more concise whilst still conveying the overall analysis and
message necessary for me to achieve the grade I desire, and not exceeding any wordcount or
time limit.
Text 1: Things Fall Apart
History of Nigeria:
The events of the novel in which we started taking in class called Things Fall Apart occurs at the end of
the 19th century and the early half of the 20th century, where the latter half follows the rise in British
occupation of Nigeria and the beginning of the cementing of their presence within West Africa, this
was stipulated due to the
British history in the seventeenth and eighteenth century of being a major buyer and perpetrator of
slavery. Although slavery was outlawed by the British in 1807, and they had not gained control of
Nigeria, internal wars had still continuously perpetuated the capturing of slaves. In 1861, the British
decided to occupy Lagos Nigeria, which contained a massive slave-trading post and is now currently
the capital of Nigeria. Slowly from there, the British spread their control to the rest of Nigeria and
slowly occupied it.
Therefore, due to the resource rich area of West Africa, the British were prompted to occupy the rest
of Nigeria for more than just slavery. Due to the natural wealth, they were in competition with many
other European countries, which prompted the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, which divided Africa
amongst the different European powers, with Britain claiming Nigeria as part of their territory. The
exploited them in order to gain access to palm oil, peanuts, rubber, cotton among other agricultural
products. Formally dividing the diverse ethnic groups of Nigeria into one country under the British
empire.
The British restructured the whole governmental system within Nigeria to suit colonial rule, by
adapting their own governmental system towards Nigeria, and carrying out religious missions. The
intervention of the British both directly and indirectly (and forcefully) were used to control the overall
population, and lead to the rise of corrupt and authoritarian regimes after decolonialization.

Igbo Cultural context

One of the key cultures, that are very new to me within the story of Things Fall apart, in which I am
introduced to by the author Chinua Achebe is the Igbo culture, where in order to understand the
motivations of the characters and their way of life, I decided to take initiative and do research on who
the Igbo are. They are people who primarily live in the southern and eastern parts of Nigeria and speak
the language called Igbo. The Igbo culture is split up into multiple primary divisions: western, northern,
southern, eastern and or Cross River. Prior to the colonization of the Europeans, the Igbo were not as
united as a single people (as in the 21st century – promoted due to the pressure of colonialism) and
were instead distant from one another and separate into local communities.

The Igbo historically and traditionally were farmers, generally planting yams, cassava, and taro, with
yams being a staple and essential part of Igbo culture, where men were responsible for its cultivation
whilst women cultivated other crops. Other crops like maize, melons, okra, and beans were grown. The
importance of land was very communal through kinship groups. As for livestock it was generally seen
as a source of prestige and utilized in religious sacrifices. The importance of trading and local crafts
within their culture, and high literacy helped the Igbo to rise as civil servants and entrepreneurs in
recent years.

The belief in Igbo religion is centered around a primary god called Chukwu, and earth goddess called
Ala, as well as several other spirits and deities, and in the importance of ancestors who safeguard their
living descendants. The desire of the deities is articulated through divination and chosen oracles. After
colonial influence, many of the Igbo believe in a syncretic version of Christianity which is mixed with
indigenous Igbo traditions and beliefs.
Igbo culture comparison with Palestinian culture:
After doing some research into the Igbo culture, I managed to see a significant connection between
the similarities of Igbo culture to my own Palestinian heritage, as from one colonized British territory
to another, we have things within our shared culture that unite us, and better helps me empathize with
the characters within Things Fall Apart. One example is the shared connection to agriculture, as
explained above with the Igbo, they are a traditionally a predominantly agricultural society. Similarly,
the connection to the Land and agriculture is a similar trait within Palestinian heritage, as due to its
geography, it was placed within the historically dubbed fertile Crescent, and a site of the first
agricultural communities worldwide. Whereby historically Palestinians have resided in small villages
like the Igbo with the full bunch of extended family. According to a famous Palestinian poet, Mahmoud
Darwish, he states he attributes it as “The land we carry in our blood”, thereby showing the deep
correlation present. Furthermore, similar to the intense focus on Yams as an essential part of culture,
tradition and livelihood, Olive trees are similarly associated with Palestine. Another similar aspect is
the treatment of family and elders within the community, as in Igbo tradition, the elders of a society
are revered with the highest degree of respect and importance, where the family is ruled by a
patriarchal male head. As such in Palestinian culture, also keeps an emphasis on family, as for example,
grandparents who are treated with great respect and authority are generally expected to live with the
family of the eldest son. Also, the culture is traditionally patriarchal in its values, with the male head
having the highest degree of authority. Lastly the Igbo culture focuses a lot on dance and music in order
to deliver emotion, relying on percussion style instruments. Similarly, music is essential in Palestinian
identity, as they are explicitly focused on in celebrations and festivals. Such examples would be the
Qanun (similar to a harp), the Arabic Oud, and the table (similar to drums)

Igbo Proverbs comparison with Arabic Proverbs:

Imperialism, colonialism & postcolonialism

One of the key themes emphasized upon within Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is the theme of
colonialism and its variants. Whereby, as a person who grew up in a postcolonial society, and a
relatively young country (only becoming independent in 1946 which is only a few years before Nigerian
independence), giving me a particular passion and interest for learning about colonialism and its effect.
When emphasizing on this lesson in class, a similar topic was being explored in one of my other DP
courses (Global Politics), in which we talked about imperialism and some of the methods of spreading
it like through Cultural Hegemonies.
Imperialism: is defined as the practice of militarily, or economically extending the power and dominion
of a state particularly through territorial conflict.
Colonialism: the ability to acquire control over another country by occupying it through the use of
settlers and exploiting its natural resources for the sake of the colonial power’s own economic growth
Causes for colonialism:
• Religious expansion (an example would be the missionaries of the catholic church)
• Exploitation of resources that are not present in the colonial power’s country such as
gold, salt, spices, oil, etc.
o The gathering of these raw materials was encouraged by the sheer production
power of the industrial revolution
• Unhealthy competition among the European countries

Decolonization: the process where the colonies gained their independence of the colonizing power
Postcolonialism: the state of affairs present during the aftermath of western and European colonialism
Neocolonialism: the use of sociopolitical, economic, and cultural, pressures to maintain dominance
over other dependent countries (Ex: USA within the middle east)
Who is Chinua Achebe?
Chinua Achebe is the Nigerian author responsible for writing the
novel Things Fall Apart, and its subsequent sequels foretelling the
story of the aftermath of British colonialism. He was born in in Ogidi,
British Nigeria, and due to his upbringing, he was impacted as a child
by both the traditional culture of the Igbo and the postcolonial
remanent of Christianity. After Nigeria recemented itself within the
entirety of Nigeria in 1970, he attempted to get involved within the
politics and political parties but was quickly disillusioned by his
frustration with the corruption and elitism within the country.

Summary of Things Fall Apart:

The novel coincides with three part chronicles that document the life of the
protagonist Okonkwo, who was one of the leaders within the Igbo
community of his tribe in Umuofia, and documents several events that led
up to his banishment at the end of part 1 for the accidental killing of a fellow
clansman, the seven years of exile – throughout part two and lastly his
return to an emergent Africa that is facing the intrusion of the colonial
government and white missionaries. The novel is littered with Igbo
traditions and proverbs, and shows the gradual fall from grace of the tragic
hero Okonkwo, and the decline of his village by the end of the novel

The Tragic Hero:

A tragic hero is defined as a character present in a tragedy and is usually the protagonist (main
character). This definition is necessary to be grasped due to the importance of this trait within the
protagonist of the novel Things Fall Apart as it is a driving force for the overall plot of the novel and the
symbolism behind it. These protagonists generally have sympathetic and heroic traits in order to relate
better to the audience, however, have a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to their demise.

Some of the Critical traits of a modern tragic hero:

• Unlike the past, the characters can be from all genders, classes, and backgrounds, meaning they
no longer have to be of noble birth or male.
• The character can be an unconventional type of hero, who doesn’t meet the typical definition
of the average hero, meaning that they could be an average person who lacks the typical heroic
traits, or can have certain villainous tendencies.
• In order for them to be a tragic hero, they must gain the sympathy of the reader
• In spite of their best intentions or efforts to avoid their fate, their fatal flaw (hamartia) must
lead to their fall from grace at the end.
• Reversal of fortune
Chapter 1 discussion + Questions
• What do we know about Okonkwo as a young man?
Description Evidence

Ambitious “His fame rested on solid personal achievements.” This quote indicates the
character of Okonkwo worked his very hardest in order to achieve the fame he has
which is entirely dependent on his personal achievements, which as we find out later
throughout the chapter was especially hard to achieve due to his father’s poverty
and lack of motivation, causing Okonkwo to start out with literally nothing.

“He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine
villages.” This shows that although Okonkwo is still at quite a tender age his hard
work and dedication to push himself to rise above his station allowed him to win the
wrestle against Amalinze the cat and in turn already achieve the fame and glory of
being the greatest wrestler.

“To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two
inter-tribal wars.” Similarly, by such a young age he used his tenacity in order to fight
for getting his titles (something his father previously never had) and his
courageousness seen in the two inter-tribal wars, which helped to build his
reputation as a “great man”.

“Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered ... Okonkwo
had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.” This quote
shows that the respect those in his clan have for him is purely based on achievement
which was achieved through the ambition and resourcefulness Okonkwo has, since
his age is not significant enough to warrant respect. Furthermore the proverb
emphasizes this, as the child (compared due to age) is able to eat with kings,
symbolising the ability to be respected and trusted.

Physically “He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was this
Strong man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the
fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days
and seven nights.”

“Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms, on their backs and their
thighs, and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. In the end
Okonkwo threw the Cat.”

Famous “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.”
“His fame rested on solid personal achievements.”

“As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing
Amalinze the Cat.”
 • What do we know about Okonkwo as an adult?

Description Evidence

Physically “Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.” This shows that
large and after the fight was won, Okonkwo’s frame and size still rapidly grew and increased
intimidating in size.

“He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very
severe look.” This following line adds further emphasis on the previous one as
Okonkwo showed that his large stature could give him “a very severe look”, adding
to the characterization of his intimidating nature.

“He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in
their houses could hear him breathe.” This emphasizes that his is so large in size
that his wives and children in other huts could hear the man breathe.

“When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on
springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody.” “And he did pounce on people
quite often.”

Loud & Hot “He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words
tempered / out quickly enough, he would use his fists.”
impatient
“He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father.”

Desperate to “He had had no patience with his father.”

be Successful
and the “Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?”
opposite of his
father “Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and
not according to the worth of his father.”
“Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things.”

Wealthy “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his
third wife.” → this means that wealth was measured by the amount of yams one
has, as well as wives (which are property in this society) which symbolize social
status

“To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two
inter-tribal wars.”

Brave and “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders
respected said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly
washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.”
 • What do we know about Unoka? Quotations to justify your answers

Description Evidence

Lazy and “In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about
Improvident tomorrow.”

Alcoholic “If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of
palm-wine, called round his neighbours and made merry. He always said that
whenever he saw a dead man's mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had
in one's lifetime.”

Debtor “Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbour some money, from
a few cowries to quite substantial amounts.”

“People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him
any more money because he never paid back.”

Tall and “He was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop.”
lanky

Enjoyed “He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on
music his flute. He was very good on his flute, and his happiest moments were the two or
three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their
instruments, hung above the fireplace. Unoka would play with them, his face
beaming with blessedness and peace. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's
band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their
tunes. They would go to such hosts for as long as three or four markets, making
music and feasting.”

Poor “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had
barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they
swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.”

“When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. Any
wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?”

Coward “Unoka was never happy when it came to wars. He was in fact a coward and could
not bear the sight of blood.”

• Research Igbo ceremonies, agriculture and rituals. From our background reading, what do
we know about the ceremony that Unoka and Okoye share when Okoye comes to visit?
(kola nut)
Based on the traditions viewed in the novel the Kola nut was a symbol utilized to depict respect and is
utilized by the hosts in order to welcome guests. It represents the values of hospitality, respect and
friendship. Whereby, the Kola nut is utilized for certain special ceremonies such as weddings, funerals,
infant naming ceremonies and medical purposes. The visiting ceremony is offered with the usage of a
kola nut which is then blessed with specific incantations or “charms”.
 • What does the chalk symbolize?
As for chalk, in both an object and color it represents peace. Whereby, the people of Umuofia utilize
chalk in order to dignify personal honors and status, through the markings on the floor and face which
according to the different levels of chalk markings signify a particular honorific title they have taken.
This is particularly seen with Okoye who marks his toe to show his first title.
• What is the purpose of chapter 1? Write a short paragraph.
The purpose of the first paragraph is to establish the exposition of the story, whereby in this chapter,
we are introduced to the main character of Okonkwo and his clan. Whereby, we are initially introduced
to the complex customs of the Umuofian clan and its commitment to tradition. One such example is
the practice of breaking the Kola nuts, which ends up being repeated throughout the length of the
book which represents the peacefulness of the Igbo traditions. We were introduced and given a
glimpse of Okonkwo’s character and his inner conflict with not becoming like his father which ends up
shaping his character for time to come. The igbo proverbs which are a recurring device throughout the
novel are also introduced to the reader and makes use of the shared oral tradition
What do yams symbolize?
In chapter one we are introduced to yams which symbolize the most essential crop used by traditional
Igbo farmers throughout Umuofia. They indicate the wealth of a man and a family that has a
considerable amount of yams is a family which is capable of prospering.
Imperialism, Colonialism & Nigeria History within the context of Things fall apart
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe, written about life in Nigeria during the late 19th
century written and published in 1958, 2 years prior to Nigerian independence. In the novel Achebe
illustrates the colonization of Nigeria and what happened to the Igbo people of Nigeria during the
colonization by the British. Due to the divided nature within the Igbo society the clan of Umuofia is not
able to properly withstand the wave of British colonization in the forms of religion, technology and
government.
The events of the story occur during the later half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth
century of British occupation of Nigeria and their presence within West Africa. Ultimately the British in
competition with the other european powers went further into west africa to control its natural wealth.
After the colonization of Nigeria ended, it became rife with corruption and lack of proper leadership,
which ended up hampering proper democracy. This lead to several military coups and dictatorships
that occurred during the later half of the 20th century, whereby it is currently within a cycle of coups
and troubled political patterns which seems to be the trend with many other decolonized territories.

Note: In order to prepare for the oral and paper 2 for the upcoming exams, I summarized and analyzed several different
chapters and sections within the novel, whilst extracting the most essential quotes in my opinion post analysis.

Chapter 1-2
Summary of events
During Chapter 1, the character of Okonkwo is introduced, who is a wealthy and highly respected
warrior and part of the Umuofian clan. He is introduced as being a man who attempts to do whatever
it takes to be as different from his deceased father Unoka as possible, whereby there was a
juxtaposition between Unoka who was fearful of blood and was always in some form of debt, which
meant that his wife and children would generally go hungry. This contrasts with Okonkwo who had a
lot of yams and was considered a wealthy farmer who fought considerably in battles and took “5 human
heads in battle”. Furthermore, in chapter 2, there was an announcement that the wife of an Umuofian
tribesman was murdered, which leads to the compensation from Mbaino being a virgin and a young
man. The young man who we are introduced as Ikemefuna is given to Okonkwo for safekeeping. This
chapter shows some of the first signs of the clash between Okonkwo and Nwoye where Okonkwo
constantly beats and nags his son to beat out the “laziness” from him.
Significant quotes of the chapter
pg. 13
“... but his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and
more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the
forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw...”
pg. 14
“Okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his household… his three wives and eight children.”

Chapter 3
Significant Quotes
pg. 16-17
“His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will
of god. The fire did not burn with a flame. The glowing logs only served to light up vaguely the dark
figure of the priestess.”
pg. 18
“With a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had…
possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.”
pg. 23
“Yams, the king of crops, was a man’s crop.”

Chapter 4
Significant Quotes
pg. 26
“But he was struck, as most people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful
men… Okonkwo knew how to kill a man’s spirit.”
pg. 28
“Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy- inwardly of course. Okonkwo never showed
any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger…”
pg. 31
“Inwardly, he was repentant. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in
error.”
pg. 31
“It has not always been so… because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve.”
pg. 32
“The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it.”
pg. 32
“He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing…”
pg. 32
“But he always found fault with their effort, and he said so with much threatening.”
pg. 33
“Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another
was a very great man indeed.”
 pg. 33
“Yam, the king of crops, was a very exacting king. For three or four moods, it demanded hard work
and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost.”
pg. 33
“The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams, neither early
nor late.”

Characterization of Okonkwo
Character trait Evidence Type of characterization Justification

Ambitious and hard “In spite of these • Indirect type of Okonkwo was able to win the respect of
working disadvantages, he had characterization, those in his clan by proving himself to be
begun even in his father’s especially through powerful and tenacious despite him
lifetime to lay the action starting from rock bottom. He was hard
foundations of a working, as seen through the extent of
prosperous future. It was the difficult situation Okonkwo began his
slow and painful. But he journey in. The fact that he “throws
threw himself into it like himself into it” shows how resilient and
one possessed.” (18) ambitious to keep himself ahead.

Ill tempered and “Okonkwo ruled his Okonkwo is seen to be strict and quick to
impatient household with a heavy temper and anger, particularly with his
hand. His wives, especially • Narrator family. The choice of diction for “heavy
the youngest, lived in perspective hand” is metonymy and illustrates the
perpetual fear of his fiery • Action harshness of the way he treats his family.
temper, and so did his little • Direct The author repeats the use of temper in
children.” (13) association with fiery and short temper in
order to capture the fear Okonkwo forces
his wives and children to feel.

Fear of Failure and fear “But his whole life was • Inner conflict According
and to this quote it explicitly depicts ho
of being like his father dominated by fear, the fear of thoughts Okonkwo’s fear of failure is tied to his fear o
failure and of weakness. It was • Inner thoughts resembling
and his father. This thought and fea
deeper and more intimate than feelings overwhelms his every thought and action
the fear of evil and capricious • Direct type where
of he fears the superstitious beliefs of god
gods and of magic, the fear of the characterization and magic less than resembling his fathe
forest, and the forces of nature, Okonkwo is lead by the force of fear which
malevolent, red in tooth and constantly motivating him and his goals since
claw.” (13) “dominated his whole life”

Hegemonic Masculinity “Even Okonkwo himself became
very fond of the boy - inwardly of
course. Okonkwo never showed • Inner
any emotion openly, unless it was feelings
the emotion of anger. To show • Indirect
affection was a sign of weakness;
the only thing with
demonstrating was strength.”
(28)
The theme of hegemonic masculinity
expressed in Okonkwo’s personality, since h
thoughts directly
and expresses that he never depict
emotions and affection other than ange
which is caused by the customs an
expectations of the men present withi
Okonkwo’s society, and the lack of ability t
show ‘weakness’

Homework Things Fall Apart

1) RELIGION/IGBO CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

List the Igbo traditions (cultural, religious, law enforcement, family, gender) that you have
encountered in the novel up to chapter 4 included.
Chapter 1:
• “He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses
could hear him breathe.” (this implies right away that the men, women and children would
sleep in separate huts)
• “Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola
nut, some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk.” (This quote about the kola nut tradition
depicts that it is primarily utilized to welcome guests and is present within important social
events like weddings, funerals and more).
• Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies.
(this depicts a polytheist society that has multiple gods and reveres their ancestors)
• Those unable to withstand blood and war (of the men) were considered weak and cowardly
• Legends and traditions (the fight with a spirit of the wild by the founder of their village)
• Titles represent a symbol of honor and respect within the community. These titles are not
conferred by higher authorities, but they are acquired by the individual who can afford to pay
for them. As a man accumulates wealth, he may gain additional recognition and prestige by
"taking a title."
• Yams and cowries are the indicators of wealth within the society
• Polygamy (marriage to multiple wives represents status and wealth)
• The importance of a man’s character and success/achievement, which allows characters like
Okonkwo to garner the respect that they have received from being self-made men (lack of
emphasis on applying the traits of the father onto the son)
• Chalk represents peace. The Umuofians use chalk to signify personal honors and status by
marking the floor and the toe or face, according to the level of honorific title they have taken.
Chapter 2:
• The wide division between masculine and feminine actions and responsibilities such as in
farming and agriculture
• Taking care of children and hens are considered female duties
• Umuofian religious traditions include the worship of wooden objects representing not only
one's personal god but also the ancestral spirits to whom one prays and makes sacrifices.
• The price for the murder of the woman in the market was a young lad and a virgin
• “In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. That was his fifth head
and he was not an old man yet. On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he
drank his palm-wine from his first human head.”
Chapter 3:
• High emphasis is placed upon the separation between men and women in the society. One
example of this is in the roles of the women in the ritual wine.
• Coco-yams, beans, and cassava are considered women's crops, whilst the yam is
considered the "king of crops" and a man's crop. This also implies that women were not capable
enough to handle the yams and could only be harvested and planted by men since it is the
primary source of income.
• The Use of proverbs that express several traditional ideas and truths about igbo culture:
o "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing."
o "The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said that he would praise
himself if no one else did."
o “Men have learned to shoot without missing, Eneke the bird has learned to fly without
perching."
o "You can tell a ripe corn by its look."
 ▪ These proverbs illustrate the great respect and courtesy that the Igbo people
show to one another because the speaker uses veiled language when
commenting about themselves or others. This symbolism in the proverbs
represents a high level of cultural sensitivity and sophistication.
• Introduction of the personal Chi: an individual's fate and abilities for the coming life are
assigned to the chi, and each individual is given a chi by the Creator. The chi is a person’s
personal god that guides one to fulfill the expected destiny.
• The Igbo people live off the land
Chapter 4:
• The beating of family members by the father/husband is normal and acceptable in igbo society
(husband beating wife or children for believed indiscretions)
• The forgetfulness of the wife Ojiugo, who has an almost childlike personality in regards to the
lack of maturity implies the younger age at which women would get married.
• “Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed
Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag.” the role of the
son would be to carry and serve the needs of the father. (very patriarchal society)
• The Week of Peace was implied to be so important that Okonkwo beating his wife was only
considered wrong because it occurred during the week of peace.
• Importance of the week of peace: “You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that
before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say
a harsh word to his neighbour. We live in peace with our fellows to honour our great goddess
of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow.”
• Punishment for breaking the week of peace: "It has not always been so," he said. "My father
told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the
ground through the village until he died. But after a while this custom was stopped because it
spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve."
• “In some clans it is an abomination for a man to die during the Week of Peace." “If a man dies
at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest.”
• The job of harvesting the yams falls to the eldest sons

What can you infer about the Igbo culture? Write a paragraph and give examples from the text to
support this.
The novel of things fall apart written by Chinua Achebe is a novel based on the traditional beliefs and
customs of the Igbo people present within Western africa (in specifics of Nigeria). During the course of
the story, achebe is capable of recounting through a wide margin of depth the igbo culture in its
functions of religion, politics, judiciary and more. To start off with, some of the traditional customs like
the Kola nut tradition are presented, which is particularly utilized in order to welcome guests and at
significant social events. This in addition to the high amount of emphasis placed on other symbolic and
societal customs, provides the Igbo society with strict hierarchical positions for both men and women.
Like many other cultures, the Igbo people contained a strict structural order, whereby originally during
the beginning of the story, Achebe utilizes Nwakibie’s status in the Ibo village by stating he, “…had
taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. It was for this man that Okonkwo
worked to earn his first seed.” This also adds further emphasis on the several religious traditions that
have a high level of importance and supersede multiple events and disputes as depicted in the week
of peace, where under no circumstances a fight can take place. At this time, when a man “dies at this
time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest.” This implies that not only is the Igbo society heavily
entrenched into their faith, which is a polytheistic belief that encircles environmental deities such as
the earth goddess, and their ancestors, but the igbo as a whole are very superstitious, as certain villages
believe that if someone dies in the week of peace they could anger the earth goddess and could cause
the destruction of the village as a whole

2) Concentrating further on gender issues, some feminist critics have argued that Things Fall Apart is
a sexist novel. What evidence can you find in Chapter 4 (or the previous chapters that supports this).
Was this Achebe’s intention, do you think?
In Things fall apart, written by Chinua Achebe, it highlights and comments on multiple different Igbo
cultural values, whereby Achebe illustrates the cultural and societal norms in both positive and critical
light. The novel very strictly captures the way in which gender roles are heavily maintained in their
rigidity, in a way to be scrutinized critically. By which the Igbo culture illustrates the heavy patriarchal
society, whereby masculine and feminine tasks were heavily separated. This is particularly seen in the
cultivation of crops, where yams for example are considered “the King of crops” and a primary source
of income, which requires more energy and physical exertion and in turn is delegated to being the
“male” crop. Furthermore, the perspective of which women were seen was more in a submissive and
property-esque light, especially since when referencing women and the number of wives as a sign of
wealth. When characterizing Okonkwo, the obsession with the desired traits of manliness and his
representation of hegemonic masculinity cause him to become more than just a great and rich man,
but overtly violent, intimidating and fearsome to those close to him, especially his family. This is
particularly clear in the uncontrollable beatings and anger in which Okonkwo subjects his wife to, to
the point in which the neighbours can hear screams and crying. Whereby during one of the abusive
interactions of Okonkwo, he was provoked to what Achebe describes as “justifiable anger”. Inspite of
all that, I don’t think it was Achebe’s intention to depict Things Fall Apart as a sexist novel. On another
hand he was portraying the way in which women were treated and thought of during the nineteenth
century, as well as the Igbo society which was overall very patriarchal and phallocentric, where women
were seen as the weaker sex, and in turn not as highly regarded as men. In my perspective Achebe
portrays the reality of the differences seen in the gender roles within Umuofian society. Through the
critical light he sheds on, he portrays okonkwo’s toxic attitude towards femininity as one of his fatal
flaws.

3) Should texts be banned if they contain elements of the socio-historical times they were set in? e.g.
Of Mice and Men contains the word “nigger”. Should it be banned/censored? (4)
In my perspective all literary texts should never be banned, since through books it can help shed light
on different perspectives and teach people tolerance and empathy through the exposure to multiple
perspectives. They act as a gateway to the reader to another reality, generally one that might not have
been lived, and through the written word, can comment on generational issues and inspire people to
fight for change. The reader doesn’t have to agree with the writer, however it is essential to show the
reader a different perspective which is founded within our modern society. Through its characters it
provides context on the way people used to think and act in the past such as in mice and men through
the use of the N-word, as racism was a heavy construct of Great Depression American society.
Accordingly readers can be exposed to such elements of the past and learn from it.

4) Should governments or nations interfere in order to “educate” cultures different from their own?
In my opinion governments of foreign nations should NEVER interfere with cultures of other nations,
as usually it causes a cultural hegemonization of existing traditions, and in turn white-washes it and
erases a lot of the meaning of existing cultures. It is also an excuse (especially in neocolonialism) to
invade other countries and through the control of their culture and beliefs easily seize their resources.

5) List the differences and similarities between Ikemefuna an Nwoye.

 Similarities Differences

• Ikemefuna and Nwoye both • Ikemefuna: He was by nature a very lively boy
enjoy listening to folk tales • Very in tune with nature: “He could fashion out flutes
and stories. from bamboo stems and even from the elephant grass.
• Nwoye and ikemefuna were He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever
treated like sons by traps for the little bush rodents. And he knew which
Okonkwo, an example trees made the strongest bows.
including teaching them to • Is a Sacrifice and can’t control much over his own life
cultivate yams • Nwoye: is a sensitive boy who does not excel in
physical activities.

6) Continue building your character profile of Okonkwo (description, quotations from the text,
motives to act like he does).
• In spite of Okonkwo's beginnings in poverty and misfortune, he has risen as one of the most
respected elders of the clan, whereby his achievements and hard work garnered him such
respect.
• Okonkwo deals harshly with and cannot respect men less successful than himself (or those he
considers unsuccessful). For example, at a meeting to discuss the next ancestral feast, Osugo
who was a man without titles contradicts Okonkwo, who in turn insults Osugo by declaring the
meeting is "for men” and calls him a woman.
• The enemy treats him with great respect in the negotiations, and the elders select Okonkwo to
care for Ikemefuna until they decide what to do with him
• Okonkwo has a hot temper fueled by his desire to not be like his father (weak), however when
he showed mercy from the beating to ikemefuna it revealed the softness hidden deep down in
his heart. “When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a
big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams, trembling. A few moments
later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully.”
• Another example of his sharp temper was when he beat his 3rd wife for shirking her duties.
“And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the
Week of Peace. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the
sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not
even for fear of a goddess.”
• He is also prideful, “Although Okonkwo inwardly regrets his "great evil," he never admits to an
error.
• To secure his manliness, Okonkwo believes that he should beat members of his family (Nwoye,
Ikemefuna, Ojiugo, and his wives) and that he should ridicule men who remind him of his father.
Though he may inwardly experience emotions of affection and regret, he cannot show these
emotions to others, so he isolates himself through extreme actions.
Highlighted extract chapter 8

Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from
morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail
and dashed against the floor. He called his son, Nwoye, to sit with him in his obi. But the boy was afraid
of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing.

He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna,-but the more he tried the more he
thought about him. Once he got up from bed and walked about his compound. But he was so weak
that his legs could hardly carry him. He felt like a drunken giant walking with the limbs of a mosquito.
Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body.

On the third day he asked his second wife, Ekwefi, to roast plantains for him. She prepared it the way
he liked--with slices of oil-bean and fish.

"You have not eaten for two days," said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. "So
you must finish this." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. Okonkwo ate the food
absentmindedly. 'She should have been a boy,' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter.
He passed her a piece of fish.

"Go and bring me some cold water," he said. Ezinma rushed out of the hut, chewing the fish, and soon
returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut. Okonkwo took the bowl
from her and gulped the water down. He ate a few more pieces of plantain and pushed the dish aside.

"Bring me my bag," he asked, and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. He
searched in it for his snuff-bottle. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. It
contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle. There was a drinking horn in it, and also a drinking
gourd, and they knocked against each other as he searched. When he brought out the snuff-bottle he
tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand.
Then he remembered that he had not taken out his snuff-spoon. He searched his bag again and brought
out a small, flat, ivory spoon, with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils.

Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's
hut. "She should have been a boy," Okonkwo said to himself again. His mind went back to Ikemefuna
and he shivered. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget. But it was the season
of rest between the harvest and the next planting season. The only work that men did at this time was
covering the walls of their compound with new palm fronds. And Okonkwo had already done that. He
had finished it on the very day the locusts came, when he had worked on one side of the wall and
Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other.

"When did you become a shivering old woman," Okonkwo asked himself, "you, who are known in all
the nine villages for your valour in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces
because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed."

He sprang to his feet, hung his goatskin bag on his shoulder and went to visit his friend, Obierika.
Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the
raffia-palm. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi.

"I was coming over to see you as soon as I finished that thatch," he said, rubbing off the grains of sand
that clung to his thighs.

"Is it well?" Okonkwo asked.

"Yes," replied Obierika. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of
the bride-price. I want you to be there."

Just then Obierika's son, Maduka, came into the obi from outside, greeted Okonkwo and turned
towards the compound, "Come and shake hands with me," Okonkwo said to the lad. "Your wrestling
the other day gave me much happiness." The boy smiled, shook hands with Okonkwo and went into
the compound.

"He will do great things," Okonkwo said. "If I had a son like him I should be happy. I am worried about
Nwoye. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. His two younger brothers are
more promising. But I can tell you, Obierika, that my children do not resemble me. Where are the
young suckers that will grow when the old banana tree dies? If Ezinma had been a boy I would have
been happier. She has the right spirit."

Possible Global Issues

1. Mental Health & Emotions

“The effect of showing vulnerability and emotional expression on mental health.”

“The suppression of emotional expression to dangerous levels is an unrealistic expectation in men”

1. Pridefulness and Reputation in Men

“The importance of reputation and pride for the sake of conforming into societal gender norms.”

(Note: new word – Phallocentric: focused on or concerned with the phallus as a symbol of male
dominance)

What is a Global issue?

A global issue is a problem that is a matter of concern throughout the world and is a necessary
component for the IO – individual oral, where the oral is structured around the global issue and linking
it to different literary texts and BOWs (bodies of work). However, recently I found it quite difficult at
the moment to come up with global issues, which we are practicing for as Things Fall Apart might be
the literary text which I choose for my actual internal. In order to better understand it, above I carried
out a practice of finding out possible global issues within the extract, but to fully understand it, I must
know the requirements for it which based upon research include the following:
• Significance on a wide/large scale.
• It is transnational.
• Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts.

Possible topics for a global issue include based on the notes on google classroom:
• Culture, identity, and community
o Aspects of family, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender and sexuality, and
the way these impact on individuals and societies.
o Issues concerning migration, colonialism, and nationalism.
• Beliefs, values, and education
o the beliefs and values nurtured in particular societies and the ways they shape
individuals, communities, and educational systems.
• Politics, power, and justice
 o They might also investigate hierarchies of power, the distribution of wealth and
resources, the limits of justice and the law, equality and inequality, human rights and
peace and conflict.
• Art, creativity, and the imagination
o The shaping and challenging of perceptions through art, and the function, value, and
effects of art in society.
• Science, technology, and the environment
o the relationship between humans and the environment and the implications of
technology and media for society.

Chapter 12 & 13 Notes:

At the start of the twelfth chapter, the narrator takes the reader into Okonkwo’s mind and shows the
audience the internal state of his true feelings instead of the facade he always portrays. Since Okonkwo
believes that displays of affection are a sign of weakness, which compels him to wait prior to following
Chielo. He ends up making the trip to the caves several times, however each time they are missing, it
is not until the 4th round that he runs into Ekwefi. This interaction shows some of Okonkwo’s true
colors, as he is not a heartless man despite the facade he always portrays. Whereby he is genuinely
worried about Ezinma and her welfare. Whereby one of his fatal flaws (his hyperbolic interpretation of
masculinity) impedes his purer side from showing completely. This interaction also compels Okonkwo
to rethink how much his wife and child mean to him.

As for in chapter 13 Ezeudu’s death is announced, which causes some inner conflict within Okonkwo,
as the last time he encountered Ezeudu was when he warned him against participating in Ikemefuna’s
death. During the funeral, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally goes off and kills Ezeudu’s son. Since such a
murder, is a crime against the earth goddess, his punishment in decree is exile for him and his family,
and a burning of Okonkwo’s buildings, and killing of his animals in order to “cleanse” the sin Okonkwo
committed. This chapter depicts how Okonkwo's violence (although in this case unintentional) caused
his rapid continued decline, marking this as the second event that characterizes him as a tragic hero.
This chapter also sheds light on male and female crimes such as a female murder (which was ironically
Okonkwo’s crime)

Significant Quotes:
pg. 112
“He had felt anxious but did not show it.”
pg. 114
“All this anthill activity was going smoothly when a sudden interruption came. It was a cry in the
distance.”
pg. 122
“He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. A sickly odor hung in the air wherever he went, and
flies went with him.”
pg. 124
“... cry of agony and shouts of horror… It was the dead man’s sixteen-year-old son… Okonkwo’s gun
had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart.”
Chapter 14 & 15 Notes:
During chapter 14, Uchendu collects his family, (particularly Okonkwo) and provides an alternative
belief to Okonkwo’s hegemonic masculinity, by pointing out that the name Nneka, which is one of the
most common names, means “Mother is Supreme”, saying that although a man usually belongs to his
fatherland and remains there during periods of prosperity, he often heads to his motherland as a haven
during harsh and bitter times. This is provided in the context of an analogy of children, whereby they
“belong to their fathers but also seek refuge in their mothers’ huts when their fathers beat them.” The
quote of Uchendu telling Okonkwo, I did not hang myself, and I ams still here, in the face of all the
tragedy he encountered contrasts and foreshadows Okonkwo’s eventual hanging and suicide, when he
cannot adapt to the changing times and loss of Igbo identity.

During chapter 15 on the other hand, finally marks the arrival of the “white man” or the colonizer,
whereby the oracle prophesized “it is said that other white-men were on their way. They were locusts,
it said, and the first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain.” The use of Locusts as
harbingers of death, foreshadow the impact of the colonizers throughout the rest of the novel. One
such impact is the destruction of Abame.

Significant Quotes:
pg. 134
“When a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother’s hut… And that is why we say that
mother is supreme.”
pg. 135
“I did not hang myself.”
pg. 137-138
“Abame is no more… has been wiped out… a little band of fugitives came into our town… During the
last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan, an albino”
pg. 140-141
“We have heard stories about white men who made powerful guns and strong drinks and took slaves
away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true.”

Chapter 16 & 17:

Chapter 16 and 17 deal with the conflict between Nwoye and Okonkwo regarding their beliefs on the
“white man’s” religion. Whereby although Okonkwo views their beliefs as stupid and foolish, Nwoye
was taken with some of the beliefs the Christian faith. The use of imagery in the words of the hymn as
raindrops healing his “parched soul” refers to two primary things. For starters, it references the head
of the arid desert in Africa, thereby providing relief to it in the form of water, as well as enlightening
Nwoye into the faith of Christianity from his previous ignorance, and quenching his spiritual thirst that
was not alleviated by his previous religious beliefs. This ends up providing a large point of conflict, as
Nwoye is seen among the christians, causing the clash between Okonkwo and Nwoye regarding the
religious beliefs to culminate, when Okonkwo unveils Nwoye’s conversion. Whereby “his father
suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck”. This leads to Nwoye
departing from his father’s compound to join the school and the missionaries.

Significant Quotes:
pg. 147
“But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye…’
pg. 152
“Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Okonkwo, of all people, be cursed with such a son?”
pg. 153
“Okonkwo was popularly called the ‘Roaring Flame.’ As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name.
He was a flaming fire…”

Chapter 18 & 19:

During this segment, Okonkwo’s fatal flaw of violence begins rearing its ugly head again, as he persists
in urging the people of Mbanta to drive away the White man through the use of violence, however
instead of that, the elders simply ostracize them. This makes Okonkwo remark bitterly about how weak
and “womanly” the clan is, beginning to feel the frustration that causes the climax of part 3 and in turn
his death.

Significant Quotes:
pg. 159
“This was a womanly clan, he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia.”
pg. 161
“Okoli was not there to answer. He had fallen I’ll on the previous night. Before the day was over he was
dead. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. The clan saw no reason
then for molesting the Christians.”
pg. 166
“... because Yam always came first”

Chapter 20 & 21:

pg. 178
“And so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan…”
pg. 179
“Neither of them succeeded in converting the other but they learned more about their different
beliefs.”
pg. 182
“He had just sent OKonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac… But Okonkwo had driven him
away with the threat that if he came into his compound again, he would be carried out of it.”
pg. 182
“The clan had undergone such profound change during his exile that it was barely recognizable.”
pg. 183
“Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he
saw breaking and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so
unaccountably become soft like women.”
Up to 25:

Significant Quotes:
pg. 192
“For the first time in many years Okonkwo had a feeling that was akin to happiness.”
pg. 195
“Okonkwo was choked with hate.”
pg. 204
“In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete… Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay
beside his uniformed body.”
pg. 207
“Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.”
pg. 208
“Obierka… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of
the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog.”

Reflection after finishing the Novel (p1, p2, p3)

After finishing the novel “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe, I was able to go on a journey with the
story throughout the twists and turns of the 3 different parts of the novel. Starting with part 1 of the
novel, it was definitely a shock and learning curve when I first started reading the novel, as I had to get
accustomed to the new culture and traditions of the Igbo people that I had never read or been exposed
to before. I learned about the different proverbs and cultural traditions that the Igbo people had, which
definitely had parallels with my own Arab culture, thus enabling me to connect with the story better.
But after moving into part 2 and 3 did the effect of the story really set in, as it properly deals with the
implications of the arrival of the colonizers and the British, whereby it foreshadowed hints of how
British rule would affect the Igbo people for decades to come. This story gives another perspective to
the stereotypical eurocentrist POV on history and the african/colonized culture. It provides the reader
with the short term before and after effect of the British presence in Nigeria, such as the erosion of the
fundamental cultural points in Igbo culture. This especially connects with me as an arab, since similarly
we were also colonized by the British, who drastically changed our language as we know it and in the
words of Achebe, “forced english down our throats”, as well as causing the corruption seen in the
middle east till today.
 Symbolism:

Connotations Characterization of
Symbol Evidence
of the Object Okonkwo

Masculinity,, “The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set Symbolically, fire is an
Destruction, to it.” (Achebe, 32) essential part of the culture
Smoke, “His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she of Umuofia. It symbolizes
Fear, War, built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the masculinity and the desire to
Hate, will of the god.” (Achebe, 16-17) defend one’s territory. The
weapons. “Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in quote about the burning or
the harmattan.” (Achebe, 3) ash itself, symbolizes
Fire
“He warmed himself in the fire and ate the compromise. It also
entrails.” represents the destructive
“Evil men and all the heathen who in their nature and heat associated
blindness bowed to wood and stone were thrown with Okonkwo’s anger,
into a fire that burned like palm-oil.” which helps contribute to
“He was a flaming fire.” his downfall
He was a raging fire

Masculinity, “Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed From a considerably young
Power, his family on yams from one harvest to another age, Okonkwo would obsess
Success, was a very great man indeed.” (Achebe, 33) over the success of his farms
Currency, “He looked at each yam carefully to see whether and in turn his output of
wealth, it was good for sowing.” (Achebe, 32) yams. In Okonkwo’s culture,
Competition, “Yam, the kind of crop, was a man’s crop.” yams symbolize success and
Hard Work, (Achebe, 23) power, and in turn a criteria
Yams “Yam, the king of crops, was a very exacting king. that suggests the wealthy
For three or four moods, it demanded hard work and powerful. Since yams
and constant attention from cock-crow till the are the king of crops, they
chickens went back to roost.” (Achebe, 33) are viewed as the most
“The women weeded the farm three times at difficult to cultivate and in
definite periods in the life of the yams, neither turn the male crop (so
early nor late.” (Achebe 33) whoever has more yams can
cultivate more crops)

Nigeria, Igbo Okonkwo, characterized as a tragic hero, symbolizes the Nigerian and Igbo
Society and society, while his death represents the defeat of Nigerian freedom, and marks the
Culture, beginning of the gradual loss of traditional Igbo identity. Moreover, several
Okonkwo
hegemonic instances foreshadowed Okonkwo’s future fall from grace, such as locusts
masculinity, symbolism.
tragic hero

Harbinger, “It is said that other white-men were on their Achebe effectively utilizes
death, way. They were locusts, it said, and the first man locusts as a biblical allusion
destruction, was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain.” to the plague of locusts, and
Locusts etc. (139) the colonizers' arrival as
symbolized by the locusts
ravage Nigerian culture,
customs and religion.
Thematic Concepts:
1. Toxic Masculinity & hegemonic masculinity
Okonkwo obsesses over and dedicates himself to being as close to the stereotypical enforced
masculinity, as seen through his rise to become a powerful man of his tribe and subsequent fall
both within the tribe and in the eyes of his son Nwoye, which marks and begins his decline as a
tragic hero. Okonkwo also insults a man without title by calling him a woman, demonstrating how
much masculinity is valued when ranking those in Umuofia society. This is further exemplified
through the gender roles which are contrasted by his son Nwoye and daughter Ezinma.
2. Colonization
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is compelled to consider how the title is a
reflection of the effect of colonialism on the novel's protagonist, Okonkwo, whereby the entirety
of the second and third parts of Things Fall Apart contemplate the theme of colonization. He
fights a losing battle to prevent missionaries from taking control of his community ultimately
leading to his own downfall as a tragic hero. Whereby the “locusts did descend. They settled on
every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground.”
reflecting the arrival of the intruders who have every intention to take over the Igbo by
introducing monotheistic religion and undermining the things that had previously been valued.
We see Okonkwo and his son torn apart because Okonkwo cannot accept that his son has
forsaken his tribe for Christianity. The tribe is in trouble, and Okonkwo knows there is nothing he
can do to stop the death of all he holds dear.

3. Culture
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes Igbo culture, which encompasses polytheistic religion,
father-son inheritance, farming traditions, and belief in evil spirits. Every major event that
happens has some kind of significance based on the Igbo culture and whatever related aspect of
it is being described. Religion is significant in Igbo culture, particularly as exemplified in the week
of peace. As Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, says: 'We live in peace with our fellows to
honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow.' This
observance is an important aspect of Igbo society, and knowing this helps the reader understand
the gravity of the situation when Okonkwo breaks the peace. Understanding Igbo culture sheds
light on why this is an important incident, and why Okonkwo must make amends directly to the
goddess through her temple, and gives the reader the extent in which Okonkwo has begun to fall
from grace, as this was one of his major transgressions.
4. Change & Tradition
As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect
and reality of change affect various characters. The tension about whether change should be
privileged over tradition often involves questions of personal status. Okonkwo, for example,
resists the new political and religious orders because he feels that they are not manly enough. To
some extent, Okonkwo’s resistance to cultural change is also due to his fear of losing societal
status. His sense of self-worth is dependent upon the traditional standards by which society
judges him.
5. Language
Language is an important theme in Things Fall Apart on several levels. In demonstrating the
imaginative, often formal and simple language of the Igbo, Achebe emphasizes that Africa is not
the silent or incomprehensible continent that European books that were discussed in class made
it out to be (such as Heart of Darkness), and in turn reclaiming their voice. By peppering the novel
 with Igbo words, Achebe shows that the Igbo language is too complex for direct translation into
English. Similarly, Igbo culture cannot be understood within the framework of European
colonialist values. On a macroscopic level, it is extremely significant that Achebe chose to write
Things Fall Apart in English, since he clearly intended it to be read by the West. His goal was to
critique and amend the portrait of Africa that was painted by so many writers of the colonial
period. Through his inclusion of proverbs, folktales, and songs translated from the Igbo language,
Achebe managed to capture and convey the rhythms, structures, cadences, and beauty of the
Igbo language.
6. Fate vs Free Will:
From the start, Okonkwo's will seems to drive his ascent in Umuofia society. He rises from being
the son of a debtor to being one of the leaders of the clan. However, once things start turning
sour for Okonkwo, he begins to blame his fate. This begins with Ikemefuna's death. Ikemefuna,
along with the infant twins of the novel, represent the most straightforward victims. Later, when
Okonkwo's gun splinters and he accidentally kills one of Ezeudu's sons, Okonkwo faces exile, an
accident that wasn’t foreseen and goes to haunt him as time passes.

Why are we doing an unseen text?

In order to better formulate the global issues, in class we have been practicing on analyzing a
quarter/half oral style extract (since it is only the novel Things Fall Apart), this is culminating in an
analysis of an unseen extract from the novel in which we have to analyze it and extract the pertinent
global issue from a 40-line extract (same length as the one necessary for an oral). Several practices
have been done together in class such as the extract from chapter 8. However now, it is time to prepare
for the practice formative (which is only for us to test our abilities before the actual formative that will
be included within the report card).

Practice reflection & Formative Reflection

Add your formative essay (scan/photo) to the LP.

What was the aim of this formative task?

Reflect on your practise formative and then your real

one. What did you struggle with at first, and what did
you understand later?

Comment on areas of difficulty.

Comment on areas you think you have learnt

something.

Set yourselves goals in order to improve or expand

your knowledge and skills.

After I completed my practice formative I was determined to improve my essay writing ability and
accordingly get a better grade on this task. I originally was kind of disappointed with my practice essay
grade at 10/20, as I felt it was in my capability to do better and improve. Therefore I looked over the
mistakes made in the 10/20 practice essay, and was determined not to repeat them. To begin with at
the beginning I struggled with time management during the practice formative, as it was the first time
writing an essay of such length and required depth, which definitely caused an error in judgement
regarding the amount of time allocated towards each paragraph. To be able to fix that mistake, I
decided to choose particular extracts within the novel and time myself (choosing approximately 5-10
minutes), and just extracting and breaking apart all of the literary devices I could find. In order to
enhance and increase my grade regarding the structure of the essay, I reviewed the rubric to better
understand the organization of the essay. Furthermore, a challenge I had during the practice essay was
that the organization of the essay was very loose, meaning that the essay was not very systematic and
got repetitive at times. The sentences were very long, which hurt the overall syntax of the essay and
made the essay more difficult to read and understand. In order to combat the issues I had with
structure, I opened on the example that was given on google classroom after the practice, and noticed
that I had not clearly specified what the global issue was, or introduced it effectively. Furthermore, the
introduction, as an example, was sloppy and all over the place. In order to learn from my mistakes, I
went over the example’s structure several times, of having the GI at the beginning (generalized) and
explaining its implications, then introducing the novel and linking the GI and novel together in a GI
statement. I then practiced writing an essay for an extract from chapter 22, in order to get more
comfortable with the structure and the way of writing this particular style of essay. As for my level of
analysis, originally I thought I did quite well in that regard, however, upon re-reading the essay, I was
disappointed to see that I had not effectively broken down the evidence from the quote and analyzed
it chunk by chunk. The style of authorial choices chosen were also at a lower level and in my opinion
should have been explained way better. Accordingly, through going over the exemplar essay, I
absorbed new vocabulary and ways of explaining and articulating the stylistic features. One such
example was instead of talking about diction in general, to add on and talk about its effect on the
semantic field and the audience imperatives it could have. Lastly, I also noticed the several silly
grammatical mistakes made, and limited vocabulary usage. Whereby there was constant repetition of
the word “this”, “utilize” and others. I could have easily replaced several of these simple words and
conjunctions with more complex ones in order to match the academic diction and semantic field.
Now after completing both the practice formative and the actual one, I learned that the aim of this
assignment was to evaluate our own level and learn where we stand regarding the analysis, and to
begin to understand the new DP level style of analysis and perspective in comparison with those of
MYP. This formative task helped me drastically improve in the way I approach a text, giving me a wider
breadth of devices to choose from and analyze. Now after completing the formative assessment I
received a 15/20, which is a huge improvement from the previous grade, whereby I used the
techniques above to help me not repeat the same mistakes, whereby I definitely think I learnt way
more regarding the style of analysis and the depth needed to go in to be able to effectively analyse the
literary text type. This was the first time analyzing such a novel relating to a global issue in such a
context, which meant I learned new techniques, and had to change/adapt the way I perceive the
textual meaning and read in between the lines. As for my difficulties, yes I drastically improved, which
I am quite proud of, I still made a few mistakes both silly and serious that brought down my overall
grade. For starters I found meeting the time an issue during this essay as well (not as much of an issue,
but one to say the least). This meant that I had to rush the 3rd body paragraph and conclusion when I
should have been able to plan my time properly to get at least a chunk of the 4th body done, and
comment on the wider work, in order to show thorough understanding of the story and plot. I also felt
that I could have articulated the analysis of the quote better, and analyzed the effect on the audience
in a more succinct and in-depth manner.

As for the goals, I would like to improve my analytical skills, since my grade in that criteria was the
lowest at a 3/5, and would like to expand my overall academic vocabulary to go in further depth for
the analysis without repeating myself.

Vocab list for writing:

Research Essay (Miss Melinda) - Notes from the Library:
Now that we completed the unseen text in class for Things Fall Apart, we have now begun starting with
the process for the HL research essay, and in order to have good quality research that is necessary for
coming up with a quality research essay, we were given a lecture by the librarian on the process of
carrying out specific and very detailed research that would benefit our overall workflow down the line
while working on the essay.

Process of carrying out a task:

• Break down the task (look through the question and the different nuances within it)
• Based upon that identify what you want to know
• After identifying the core aspects of the research, formulate a RQ in order to narrow down the
specifics.
• Collect research

Process of research:
Step 1: Engage
A. What do you already know?
. Background Knowledge
a. Classwork/Discussions
b. Notes
B. Purpose of your research task?
o Analysis or argument?

Step 2: Define the Subject

Analyze theme and aspect
• Brainstorm topics
• Develop research question

Step 3: Initiate a Search Strategy

Describe a topic, identify resources, and organize resources.
• Key words
• Locate sources
• How to organize results

Step 4: Examine and Select

Step 5: Record, Organize, Synthesize
Step 6: Create
Step 7: Evaluate

What is the HL essay?

The HL research essay is a requirement of language and literature HL students that requires them to
write a 1200-1500 word answering a research question of their own choice into one of the many texts
that were studied in class. The essay provides the opportunity to explore a literary or language topic
over a lengthy period of time, whilst refining the overall essay through planning, drafting, and editing.
The essay needs the construction of a clear, concise, and specified analytical argument that looks at a
work from a particular lens in order to answer the question
Steps for writing research essay
1. Research.
• Read summaries, critical essays on TFA in order to spark your interest in a given topic.
a) Brainstorm possible topics, which should be narrow and specific given you only have
1500 words, THEN see how much material/bibliography you have on that specific topic.
E.g. How does Achebe include proverbs in order to convey Igbo culture is a good one…
do we have material though?
b) Once you have defined your topic and know you have at least 3 academic sources,
formulate an essay qn:
• IT HAS TO BE A QUESTION.
• Should be specific.
c) Make a bank of useful quotations/passages from your sources. You will integrate
quotations or formulae ideas from what you read.
Structure
. 5 paragraphs. INTRO, 3 BODY PARAGRAPHS, CONCLUSION
a. LINKED THROUGHOUT.
b. CONCLUDE ON YOUR QUESTION AT THE END OF EACH PAR
c. MUST CONTAIN LITERARY ANALYSIS
d. EVALUATE ON LIT FEATURES
e. EVALUATE IN CONCLUSION
Language
• Elevated. No contractions, no we, you, your and least of all
• Rhetorical devices must be mentioned for a 5.
• Look at vocabulary list for new words.
Citations.
• At least 2 academic sources, plus TFA
• MLA style
• Embed quotations.
Musts:
• Stylistic devices/authorial choices.
• Could add theories, eg. Gender Order theory Connel. (see Google Classroom).
Research Essay preliminary plan
Research question: How does Achebe’s characterization of Okonkwo as a tragic hero depict the gradual
loss of identity of Nigeria as a result of colonization?

Introduction:
Quote from Achebe → to be used as a hook
Context on what drove him to write Achebe + linking towards loss of identity and colonization
Thesis statement: Achebe utilizes the characterization of the protagonist - Okonkwo as a tragic hero
to signify the effect the colonization of Nigeria had on its gradual loss of identity. Okonkwo manifests
this decline in Nigerian identity during three points in his character arc: initially when established as a
great and respected man, eventually declining due to his hubris and hamartia caused by toxic
masculinity, finally leading to his death at the end of the novel; all of which articulated through his use
of characterization, symbolism and narrative style.

Paragraph 1:
• First part of his overall character arc → initially when established as a great and respected man
o Specific narrative structure and style to initially characterize Okonkwo as a great and
respected man within his community
o a third-person omniscient point-of-view of the traditional oral storytelling style
o the "matter-of-fact" detached tone and repetition
o applied in relatively simple sentence structure to represent the narrator's objective
perspective establishing the overall consensus within the village that Okonkwo is
righteous and prosperous
o Use of Diction and Accomplished semantic field

Paragraph 2:
• Semantic field of diction
• This irony illustrates to the reader the contradictions seen in tragic heros, as although they have
virtuous traits, it slowly gets overshadowed by the mistakes that pile up caused by their fatal
flaw.
• Metaphor of Okonkwo as a “roaring flame” and “flaming fire”

Paragraph 3:
• Symbolism of the locusts
o “it is said that other white-men were on their way. They were locusts, it said, and the
first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain.
o a biblical allusion to the plague of locusts
• The usage of the word “harbinger” has a negative connotation
• who in his symbolism of Nigeria is foreshadowed in his death
• catharsis is depicted in the novel when Okonkwo chooses suicide instead of the loss of the
African identity
• Juxtaposition of Okonkwo as a great man and being buried like a dog → irony
Reflection on Formative Research Essay (pre feedback):
Regarding the summative research essay, although I don’t exactly know how well I did, and have not
received my grade for it yet, the strengths I feel I have when it comes to writing the essay, was for
starters the research question, as I felt it was well articulated and went in depth on a very specific topic.
I think I was also able to link Okonkwo’s actions which caused him to become a tragic hero, with his
symbolic representation of Nigeria. I was able to identify several authorial devices utilized by Achebe
in order to get his point across regarding colonialism’s effect on culture and identity.

Weaknesses
As for my weaknesses, I felt I over-added the amount of literary devices for each paragraph which
meant that I didn’t have enough wordcount to further analyze and add emphasis on the literary devices
themselves and the overall effect each device would have on the reader. Due to this I felt I didn't
completely answer the question to its fullest extent leaving out a few points due to constraints in word
count. I utilized quite a variety of sources when researching in order to come up with the particular
points of analysis of certain paragraphs, however due to word count constraints, I felt that I did not
reference the variety of sources enough, and the ones that were referenced, only superficially.

Post feedback reflection:

After receiving my feedback from the formative research essay, I realized upon rereading the essay
several times some mistakes that never occurred to me previously whilst reflecting on my performance
prior to the feedback. However, based on the feedback, the organization was not systematically carried
out of the essay which made it confusing and hampered the quality of my analysis as well as my ability
to concisely go into the depth I wanted to articulate. This is why in order to answer the question and
relate it back to the tragic hero part seamlessly, I would split up the paragraphs as per: first body - the
first traits of a tragic hero (early stages of Okonkwo and the characteristics that made him a great and
respected man, and warrior.), followed by the second body focusing on his hubris, excessive pride and
hamartia as caused by toxic masculinity, and lastly the third body regarding his downfall which causes
catharsis after the arrival of the colonizers. Accordingly, the primary thing I need to do for the
Summative research essay is to reshuffle my information in a more systematic and detailed manner.
Furthermore for criterion A, in order to enhance my overall grade I think I should work on further
detailing my interpretation in addition to my analysis and explanations. Similar to my predictions
previously, the limitations in word count that compelled me to change the syntax and structure of
certain sentences and delete concepts negatively affected my overall performance in Criterion C and
D.
Final Research Essay:
Reflection upon final Essay:
After I completed the formative research essay I was determined to improve my essay writing ability
and accordingly get a better grade on this task. I originally was kind of disappointed with my Formative
essay grade at 13/20, as I felt it was in my capability to do better and improve. Accordingly based off
of my reflection post formative assessment I began to restructure my essay in order to improve my
results in Criterion C and A, as well as the mistakes made in regards to syntax and structure in criterion
D which caused my grade to decrease to a 13/20 in the research essay, determined not to repeat the
same mistakes. Accordingly, in order to improve my analysis, I added further interpretation and gave
very good examples in order to show a high understanding of the content in relation to the research
question. However my essay was not balanced, where I focused more on the first part of my question
rather than the second half, which is why I got a 4/5 in criterion A. Also similar to the first draft of this
essay, I struggled with word count, which severely impacted my grade dropping my two complete
marks off of Criterion C lending me a 2/5 instead of a 4/5 which would have been my result. However
in spite of the fact that I went down in criterion C, my grade in criterion D did improve, because I
worked on enhancing the syntax structure and overall punctuation of the essay, which landed me a ⅘.
I also, thanks to the writing workshop carried out, learned a lot about integrating my quotes better, in
order to enhance the overall structure and quality of my essay.

As for the goals, I would like to improve my evaluating skills, since my grade in criterion B was
technically the lowest although I did score lower in criterion C (however that was due to wordcount),
and would like to improve my overall ability to be more concise without repeating myself in order to
avoid losing marks unnecessarily.
Individual Oral Unit:
With the overall deadline of the individual oral – internal for Language and Literature coming up soon
by the end of Grade 11 where we will have to film the IO, in order to get prepared for such an important
assignment, in the previous unit we focused on coming up with a global issue for a literary work, now
in order to get through the other half of the oral, we must know how to carry out the necessary analysis
for the BOW section of the IO. Accordingly, this is why we will be focusing on two primary BOWs this
unit that correlate with Things Fall Apart, they are: “Men’s Health Magazine covers,” and “The Zaire
School of Popular Painting” by Tshimbumba Kanda Matulu.

Structure of an Individual Oral

Intro:
Delve straight into GI, why it is transnational and of current importance, plus texts (some brief context
if you like). And if you like.. State how the oral will be divided.

Paragraph 2:
• Signpost you are beginning with your first text and state whether it is the extract or the
ww/bow:
• Include transitions
• Include a wide range of sf/ac, plus their effect re the GI, plus evaluation
• Show knowledge and understanding of the extract/ww/bow
• Give pertinent references: if you are dealing with the extract from the extract. If you are dealing
with ww/bow give examples and quotations from them in rel to yr GI
• ALWAYS RELATE BACK TO YOUR GI TO SHOW FOCUS

Paragraph 3. Transition stating you will now cover wider work/bow or extract
• Include transitions
• Include a wide range of sf/ac, plus their effect re the GI, plus evaluation
• Show knowledge and understanding of the extract/ww/bow
• Give pertinent references: if you are dealing with the extract from the extract. If you are dealing
with ww/bow give examples and quotations from them in rel to yr GI
• ALWAYS RELATE BACK TO YOUR GI TO SHOW FOCUS

Paragraph 4. Clearly state you are now dealing with your other text and state whether it is the extract
or the ww/bow

Repeat the process in Pars 3 and 4 above.

Conclude: do not just some up but EVALUATE IN RELATION TO YOUR GI, as well as the authorial choices.

Note to self-** Make sure the paragraphs are balanced. If one paragraph is longer than the other, this
means you would not have achieved balance in the oral.
Writing workshop
Due to the subpar ability of the class to integrate evidence within the analysis of the research essay,
my teacher decided to carry out a writing workshop, in order to effectively depict how to embed quotes
within paragraphs of analysis, and gave us an extract of a Paper 1 text in Literature A, in order to teach
us the proper way to carry out analysis within the research essay and future essays necessary to be
done for the Language and Literature A course. My main focus during the writing workshop, was to
better improve my capability in embedding quotations within a concise manner due to my difficulty
with maintaining within the wordcount limit.

Embedding quotations:
There are three strategies you can use to embed quotations: set off quotations, build in quotations, or
introduce quotations with a colon.

Set off Quotations

Set-off quotations are set off from the sentence with a comma. Capitalize the first word of the quote.

Build in Quotations
Unlike set-off quotations, built-in quotations are built seamlessly in to a sentence. They are not set off
with commas and usually use the word “that” along with a signal phrase. Do not capitalize the first
word of these quotes.

Introduce Quotations with a Colon

For this strategy, the signal is a complete sentence that goes before the colon. This sentence provides
some information about the quotation to introduce it. The quotation follows the colon, and the first
word in the quotation is capitalized.
Mistakes to avoid:
Ambiguous The name of the person who said the quote cannot be in an introductory phrase,
pronouns but has to be part of the subject. The subject of the sentence should use the name
of the person who said the quote.

Floating There should be no sentences that are entirely composed of a quotation, this is
quotations because the reader may find it difficult to connect the quotation to the whole
purpose needed to be argued in the paragraph.
BOW 1: Men’s Health Magazine
Looking at many of the thematic concepts that could serve a purpose in the formulation of a global
issue for this unit, one of them includes the theme of toxic masculinity and hegemonic masculinity
which is especially featured through Okonkwo’s fatal flaw that causes his fall from grace. One way of
finding a body of work that links back to the novel is through looking at Men’s Health Magazine covers
that perpetuate the social stigmas applied to men due to systematic hegemonic masculinity.

Looking at advertising techniques which are emphasized upon within the BOW they include the
following techniques:

Term Use
Bandwagon Ex: Everyone else is buying this product. You don't want to
miss out!
Testimonial A celebrity endorses a product. It is good enough for
him/her, it’s good enough for me.
Emotional Appeal Positive words that make you feel good about buying a
product
Glittering Generalities Words and phrases imply or suggest something without
making guarantees or promises
Snob Appeal Ex: only the elite use this! You are special
Avant Garde Ex: be the first to try it! You are ahead of the times.
Nurture Everytime, you see an animal or a child, the appeal is to your
paternal or maternal instincts (taking care of someone)
Scientific/Statistical Claim The ad provides some sort of scientific proof or experiment,
very specific numbers, or an impressive sounding mystery
ingredient
Facts and Figures Statistics and objective factual information is used to prove
the superiority of the product.
Ex: a car manufacturer quotes the amount of time it takes
their car to get from 0 to 100 k.p.h.
Magic Ingredient The suggestion that some almost miraculous discovery
makes the product exceptionally effective.
Patriotism The suggestion that purchasing this product shows your love
of your country
Plain Folks The suggestion that purchasing that the product is a practical
product of good value for ordinary people.
Ex: cereal manufacturer shows an ordinary family sitting
down to breakfast and enjoying their product.
Endorsement To give approval, such as the famous football player
advertising a well-known soft drink
Guarantee A promise of quality or length of use. Often the seller
promises to fix or replace a product for a certain length of
time.
Option An extra feature, usually for an additional price
Symbol An object that stands for something else, such as beautiful
hair for happiness or a car for success
Vanity Inflated pride in yourself or appearance
Furthermore, to better be able to analyze the Magazine covers, the conventions of such a cover must
be articulated. This includes the following:
• Purpose of the front cover: Essentially, the front cover functions to entice readers to buy a
magazine. Although the reader will spend a fraction of the time, they read the magazine
focusing on the front, they may not pick it up in the first place unless the front cover is well
designed.
o The front cover is made up of a number of important features. These are common
conventions of magazines. For you to create your own magazine, you must understand
how these conventions function and what their purpose is.
• Masthead: This is the name of the magazine and is almost always displayed at the top. The font
style and color will have been chosen extremely carefully to help sell the magazine, as well as
give some indication about the content and audience
• Tagline: This goes near the masthead and is sometimes attached to it. It shows what the
magazine is about or who it might be aimed at.
• Central Image: This is one of the most important parts of the front cover as it catches a reader’s
eye before they look at the printed text. The central image will be relevant to the magazine’s
purpose and audience and will often be strongly related to the feature article.
o In front-cover analysis, much can be said about the central image. So much can be
denoted and connoted from this image.
• The Cover Model: For many magazines, a cover model will be used. This may be a celebrity, or
well-known individual connected with the magazine’s genre (e.g., a rock star posing for a music
magazine); or it may be a photographic model.
o Questions to think about whilst analyzing this:
▪ Why is the model dressed in a certain way, or lit in a certain way?
▪ What is the connotation of this?
▪ How are they posed?
▪ Is the model’s pose seductive? Intimidating?
▪ Why are they wearing those specific clothes?
• Anchorage: This is a term that refers to how images are referred to. In magazines, images will
be anchored by captions (directly explaining what the pictures depict), by coverlines, or by
articles and headlines. Anchoring an image helps give it meaning, as it helps the reader
understand the significance.
• Secondary Images: They may be used on the front cover to help promote other features in the
magazine, usually anchored by a coverline.
o They are often used in magazines where reader’s need to be enticed by the picture
rather than the coverline text (Ex: celebrity magazines).
• Coverlines: These are located at various points on the front cover, telling readers about the
magazine’s contents – and specifically, the articles they’ll find.
o The front cover often features 6-12 coverlines in an attempt to lure different readers to
different things.
o Coverlines will often use language and presentational devices to be most effective
• Mode of Address: Mode of Address refers to the way that magazines communicate with their
readers. Some magazines will use a direct mode of address, communicating with individual
readers.
• Puff: As in “puff of air”, this is a device which helps to draw attention to and promote certain
elements in the magazine. They are often set against colorful backgrounds and are shaped –
e.g., rounded.
• Pug: Pugs are the “ears” of a magazine and are placed at the top left or right-hand corners of a
front cover. They usually display a promotion from that magazine’s edition, or possibly the
price.
 • Barcode, Price, Edition: Straightforward features, but they need to be strategically placed. The
barcode shouldn’t distort any of the cover’s principal features, and the price will usually be
displayed nearby.
• Use of Color: this is used to great effect. Some magazines will alter all the color schemes from
edition to edition (masthead, coverline fonts, etc.), while others will alter some colors to
coordinate with the central image.
• Font: Front covers will display a variety of font choices, usually adapted to infer meaning to the
text they’re displaying.

Working on Criterion B Men`s Health Magazine:

Extract of Testimonial + endorsement: The use of testimonial and endorsement can be seen through the quote “Ripped after 40 – the
incredible physical journey of Tom Brady”. Due to Tom Brady’s notoriety within American football, and consideration as one of the
BOW: best players of the sport, it would naturally appeal to many men due to his high level of athleticism, which could indicate a level of
approval from the celebrity on the techniques advertised for by the magazine. However, the use of after 40, has a negative
connotation on men after 40, and plays on their insecurities built up by societal standards.
Emotional appeal: the use of a semantic field of diction which has a positive connotation include words such as sunshine, which is
generally associated with happiness, so when the magazine says: “Ways to turn sunshine into lean muscle.” Indicating to the
audience that it can create muscle and societal standards for the user who reads the magazine. As well as statements like “lose
your gut,” which further play on this technique.
Glittering generalities: statements like “blitz calories all day long”, “weight-loss pills decoded” imply and suggest that this magazine
will be the cure to all the ailments and insecurities of the target audience without guaranteeing anything and making general
promises that further add towards the anxiety of the male reader.
Statistical claim + facts and figures: there were utilizations of facts and figures when the magazine claimed to “shed 2kg in just 2
weeks”, which through the use of logos, allows a façade of objective factual information to be used to prove the superiority of the
advertisement in guaranteeing the societal belief of the ideal health of men
Use of color: can be seen the use of contrasting colors of orange and black/indigo which creates an aesthetically appealing cover
that draws the attention of the reader to key conventions of the advertisement, such as the masthead, endorsement, and key
diction such as “best”. The use of orange as an energetic color that is associated with feelings of vibrancy and excitement links back
to the overall message regarding tying masculinity with muscularity and athleticism.
Font: The use of multiple different fonts, indicates different ways of conveying the message. For starters the use of serif font for
the title of “Men’s Health”, promotes feelings of class and heritage, giving an air of trust and respectability, which helps the
magazine gain the trust of their audience, and promote an air of superiority regarding their ideals of masculinity.
BOW:
As for the body of work, many of the techniques utilized are similar throughout. For starters,
the emphasis on celebrity endorsement for many of the magazines, by selectively choosing
men of different eras who were considered to be the most conventionally attractive, in
order to subconsciously compare the reader with the men on the magazine, in order to
utilize both the celebrity approval of the brand, and the audience insecurity to gain a higher
following. Also, the use of testimonial as seen in the quote of the first magazine cover “How
I lost 50Lb”, gives further endorsement to the product and is a possible example to portray
ethos and credibility for how presumably the model used the magazine to lose weight.
Furthermore, focusing on the men, the majority of the wider work (3/4) portray men in an
open position with their torso exposed, with 3/5 of the magazines featuring shirtless men,
in order to highlight the overtly muscular stature they have in order to highlight that if the
audience craved the ideal body type imposed through societal pressure, then they should
pursue the aims of the magazine, as all the models for the magazine are clearly in peak
physical condition. Furthermore, the use of alternating colors, generally warm contrasting
colors for subtitles and highlights (using red and yellow), draws attention to deliberate
diction such as “lose the pounds” or “GET back in shape”. The use of color psychology of
yellow creates an energetic and remembered quote that is designed to stick within the mind
of the audience. However, it can show an aggressive side, since it is generally associated
with frustration, that could imply with the audience’s frustration of not conforming within
the societal masculine standards that are exemplified by the magazine. Rhetorical questions
are exemplified when the magazines say, “So you wanna quit your job?” or “how I lost 50
Lb.?” This allows the reader a moment to pause and think about the question, as well as
directly addressing the reader which would connect more with the insecurities. The use of
asyndetic lists in “flatten your belly, sculpt your arms, and burn fat faster” adds emphasis to
the point the magazine has trying to make. Lastly many of the sayings have alliteration and
in the case of the first cover sibilance in “strike out stress” which creates a harsh sound
coupled with the overall muscular theme of the magazine.

Global Issue: How hegemonic masculinity results in unrealistic beauty standards for men that causes the exploitation of
male insecurity?
BOW 2: Zaire’s paintings
As for the second BOW covered for the novel of TFA, the second half of the novel follows different
thematic concepts than that of Men’s Health Magazine, focusing more on the theme of colonialism
and the subjugation of locals by external powers, which lead to the overall decline of Umuofia and
Okonkwo who represented Nigeria. One way of finding a body of work that links back to the novel is
through looking at Zaire’s school of popular paintings by Tshimbumba Kanda Matulu that shed light to
the horrors of Belgian colonization of the DRC.

I decided to carry out a Venn diagram between TFA and paintings in order to compare their similarities
in regard to the global issue necessary for the upcoming oral in case I want to fall back on the novel of
Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall apart Similarities Paintings

This piece was written as a response to
novels like heart of darkness that treat
Africa as a primordial and cultureless
foil for Europe.
Both works, things fall
apart and Tshibumba
Kanda Matulu’s paintings
deal with the poor
treatment and subjugation
of the african people by
white colonizers.
Congolese artists like Matulu
began to create works that
explored their ancestral
origins, colonial history and
aspirations for the newly-
independent nation, as well
as the decline seen in Congo

Unlike some later African authors who Both works’ intended Tshibumba's aesthetic is an
chose to revitalize native languages as a purpose of publication are example of Popular Painting,
form of resistance to colonial culture, inherently political. a genre that emerged in Zaire
Achebe wanted to achieve cultural in the 1920s because of
revitalization within and through the young artists who desired an
use of the colonizer’s language aesthetic that expressed their
“english” distinct national identity.

As for Achebe in things fall apart and
the subsequent two novels that
followed, he mainly focused on
colonialism and the effect of
colonialism long term, and was more a
reflection of the identity and debates
that were going on during the question
about Nigerian independence in the
1950s
Both pieces pioneered
their respective genre,
with things fall apart, it set
the precedent for modern
african literature, while
Matulu was one of the
artists who pioneered his
aesthetic during the 70s.
Matulu targeted more in his
paintings than the belgian
occupation, he also targeted
the dictatorship in his series
of 7 paintings.
Summative Oral Script:
Below is a script of the summative in which I chose the second BOW to analyze half an oral:

Colonialism and the cultural hegemonization of western societal constructs imposes repressive
regimes, whilst treating its subordinate societies as inferior. It is responsible for moulding the life in
those societies to meet the needs of the colonial powers, through violent subjugation of its people.
The global issue is “how the subjugation and dehumanization of societies is resultant from the
hegemonic perspective imposed by colonialism that certain societies are inferior to others?” through
analyzing a sample of Kanda-Matulu’s work by delving into several artistic devices including, Fibonacci
sequence, rule of thirds and balance.
I will now begin with analyzing how the artist depicts the violent subjugation and dehumanization of
the congolese people due to colonization. To begin with Kanda-Matulu names this particular painting
“Le grand chef”, which directly translates to the hanging chief Lumpungu. The subsequent titling of the
painting after the Chief who died fighting for freedom, turning him into a martyr against occupation,
marks the beginning of the violent subjugation the African people experienced and shatters the
semblance of unity against their rule.
The writing of the title in French, which became the official language of the Congo, emphasizes how
part of their identity was stolen, by forcing them to adopt the language of their colonizers. The artist
also utilized contrasting color choices of white and black in order to depict the colonizers and the
leaders of the African tribes.
Whereby the colonizers were portrayed in the color white which contrasts with the darker colored
background and accordingly draws the attention of the audience towards them and highlights the
importance of their role in colonial Africa. Furthermore, the symbolism of the color white is perceived
by the colonizers to be the pure force sent in order to bring civility to the inferior african people, which
complements the narrative spread by them in order to justify their atrocities.

On the other hand, when looking at the color choice from the African perspective, white is the
traditional color of death and mourning, and foreshadows the horrific impact of the colonizers, as they
were the harbingers of death and violence. This contrasts with the coloring of the chief who was
hanged, in the neutral color of black.
Since the hanging takes place at dawn, it symbolizes how his death marked the end of resistance, whilst
the warm colors of dawn represent a new day, and beginning under colonial rule.
The hanged man is almost centrally positioned with the colonizers to his right and the coffin to his left,
which creates an imbalance to the asymmetrical composition. Therefore, the colonizers and coffin form
a similar connotation of destruction and repeating the motif of death, while the imbalance causes a
sense of tension and unease that reflects the mood and themes of the painting.
It also sets a focal point, concentrated by the fibonacci spiral using the rule of thirds, that directs the
viewer’s eye towards the hanged man, accentuated by the contrast in size dimensions and reflects the
heavy prominence of oppression and cruelty imposed upon African people due to their superiority
complex. This directs the viewer’s eye particularly to the concealment of the faces of the African
people, depriving them of their individuality, destroying their identity and pride by treating them as
subhuman, while clearly showing the faces of the two colonizers.
These devices can also be appreciated in the larger body of work. For example as can be seen in the
second painting, and among Kanda-Matulu’s wider work, the artist employs the rule of thirds to create
asymmetrical balance between the three different elements of the painting.
It consists of the colonizer in the center of the painting, acting as a line of symmetry splitting the
painting in half, with his sides insinuating the implication of his presence, in other words, death on his
right and the slavery on his left.
This feature is repeated in the 4th and 5th painting, having symbols of colonial rule in the center acting
as a line of symmetry, which reflects balance, due to the devastation surrounding it. For instance in
painting 4 the white man is positioned in the center with the Congonese slaves who appear to be
malnurished relegated to less than property. Similarly in painting 5 the White colonizer is on the right
whilst the slaves are being commanded on the left. The chains binding them all together, depicts how
colonization has taken over inspite of the majority’s opposition.
Moreover all of the paintings employ the colors of red, yellow and black within the colorscheme, which
is an allusion to Belgian colonialism and the perpetual cycle of slavery. Furthermore in painting 4, the
decapitated body of a congolese man can be seen with no burial being left there to rot, with his head
carried as some kind of trophy, whilst the blood runs freely, the extent of the blood spilt fighting for
freedom, reemphasizing the theme of death that permeates the initial image and the wider work.
Also the complete disregard of burying the man in comparison to the grave of one of the colonizers,
highlights the way the African people were dehumanized and viewed as inferior.
In conclusion Kanda-Matulu’s work delves into the several techniques, including using the Fibonacci
sequence in the rule of thirds to create a focal point, balance, symmetry, and color in order to tackle
the global issue, whereby through both this painting and the wider work, he chronologically progresses
throughout the colonialism era to depict how they were repeatedly brutalized, dehumanized and
treated as inferior in order to justify the theft of their resources and enslavement.
Feedback:
MARIAN 24/30 6
A 5 excellent
B 5 excellent
C 7 Not quite balanced M. Extract 230”. Wider work 140”. Pause. transition
D too fast.. 6 or 7. Will give you 7 as was not read.
Reflection on Oral:
Due to the practice in the beginning of the year, in the first formative of unit 1, surrounding coming up
with global issues, it was definitely easier this time around to come up with a global issue for the oral.
My grades for the oral were a 5/5 in criterion A, a 5/5 in criterion B, a 7/10 in criterion C and a 7/10 in
criterion D, making my overall 24/30. I was quite pleased with the result, especially in criterion A and
B, as I had witnessed stark improvements in both criterion A and B, whereby my first criterion A of the
year landed me a 3/5, and now I managed to increase it to a 5/5, especially since I had learned from
my mistakes in the research essay enabling me to focus more on linking the global issue to my analysis.
As for my struggles within the oral, I definitely struggled in making the oral balance between the
painting and wider work, whereby in the painting analysis I spoke for 2:30 minutes and in the wider
work I spoke for only 1:40 second. This means that I should have divided up my devices and linkage to
the GI better in order for the work to be more well-rounded. Lastly another challenge I had similar to
word count was fitting everything in my oral, as I had plenty to say, and not enough time to say all of
it, causing me to increase my speed of talking and in turn brought me down in criterion D.

Terminology:

Terminology: Use:

Balance Relates to the placement of heavy and light symmetry and in turn placing energy

The use of either warm and or cool colors generally tends to invoke certain emotions,
Color palette
whereby warm colors generally expand and cool colors recede.

Assists the audience in focusing on the interaction between characters objects and
Lines
assists in direction

Perspective In order to provide depth and provide an illusion of space.

shadows Convey volume as well as provide depth and help in crafting perspective.

Used for overall cohesiveness, and ties in to the concept of symmetry and asymmetry
in order to shed light on a particular feature of a painting or emphasize something
Unity
(since it can direct the viewer’s eye towards a particular element similar to a focal
point).
Text 2: Death and the Maiden
After finishing the unit covering our first text TFA, we now finally began with our second text which is
a play called Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. The play takes place in the post-dictatorship
society of Chile in the early 1990s, in the aftermath of the transition of power from dictatorship to
newly elected democracy. Many Latin American countries faced the rise of military coups within the
latter half of the 20th century which caused the rise of military junta dictatorships, that were eventually
phased out for democratic leaders in many of those Latin American countries during the end of the
20th century. Regarding the context of Chile, throughout the first half of the 20th century, the political
compass often swung from left and right, with no effective large-scale change. During the 1960s some
social reform was achieved, however the politics of Chile became more and more polarized, and when
Allende achieved presidential victory with a socialist coalition, his economic reforms became more
extreme, causing US intervention which prompted the support of the coup organized by Pinochet, who
seized control in 1973. Allende's sweeping economic reforms included the state takeover of many
private enterprises; the United States was angered by the confiscation of U.S.-controlled copper mines
and Chile's openly friendly relationship with Cuba, a country with whom America had ceased
diplomatic and economic ties. Pinochet, therefore, created a four-person junta and dissolved the
democratic institutions like the congress, and violently repressed any political opposition. He
maintained absolute autocratic power until 1990 (and resorted to many crimes against humanity like
abduction and torture in which the protagonist Paulina was a victim of, in order to suppress opposition
and dissent) where a transition of power occurred. Having to then deal with all the human rights
violations perpetrated by Pinochet’s government, the new democratically elected government sparked
the creation of the Rettig commission, which was established to investigate the most serious
allegations of abuse and death which occurred over the years to spark the healing of the country.
Who is Ariel Dorfman?
The play Death and the Maiden (DATM) was inspired by the event of
governmental transition and ethical questioning within Chile at the turn of the
century and from the author Ariel Dorfman’s own personal experiences. So, who
is Ariel Dorfman? Dorfman is an Argentine Chilean novelist and playwright, who
from 1970 to 1973 worked as the cultural adviser to the former president of
Chile – Salvador Allende. However, he was forced to leave Chile in 1973 after
the Coup orchestrated by Pinochet. Whereby, upon the reinstatement of a
democratic government, he writes the play in order to make all sectors of
society think about the implications of themes such as revenge, justice, and the
cycle of violence, and ponder about the correct decisions to be taken.

Summary of the play

The play centers around a microcosm of Chile as represented through the 3
characters of the play Paulina Salas (the victim), her husband, Gerardo (the
mediator), and Roberto (the victimizer). The play takes place during the
transition to a newly democratic government attempting to heal from the
aftermath of dictatorship, where Gerardo is given the position of heading the
investigation committee (allusion to Rettig commission), where he is to
investigate and prosecute the worst crimes against humanity of the
dictatorship which resulted in death, in order to move on from the cycle of
violence, however this angers Paulina – as victim she feels this does not give
her any closure to the horrific crimes she was subjected to. They then meet
Roberto, who during the night knocks at their door, and recognizing him as
the doctor who raped her, she ties him up and tortures him into confessing
his crimes against her perpetuating the cycle of violence. This culminates in
an open ending that is unclear about the overall fate of Roberto.
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN QUESTIONS

a) Judging from your knowledge and understanding of the play’s context, both of publication and
setting, why do you think Dorfmann has included three characters?
After the return to democracy in Chile, there were three schools of thought that existed in order to
deal with the aftermath of the situation regarding the crimes committed against humanity. To begin
with the first division were the military and military supporters, who were usually sympathetic to the
military or aided and abetted the crimes in varying degrees. This is represented by Roberto, who
aligned with the dictatorship/regime that was previously in power, and a group of people whose crimes
the commission is to investigate. As for the second example of how people were divided, it was the
other extreme (those who were victims of the abuse of power imposed by the regime), this is
represented by Paulina, who like other women during the dictatorship, was a victim of torture, and
rape, and accordingly symbolises the desire within the chilean people for revenge against the
perpetrators of the oppression regardless of the severity of the crime. Lastly the third group, as
represented by Gerardo, are the government or the middle ground, since he works for the government
in investigating the crimes done to those who were killed, and advocates for justice. Thereby all three
characters in the house represent a microcosm of Chile as it transitioned from dictatorship to
democracy.
b) What do the initial stage directions imply regarding Paulina?
When Paulina is initially introduced in scene one the stage directions and authorial choices characterize
her as a terrified broken woman who is still traumatized by the aftermath of what the dictatorship did
to her, a timid woman who lacks the primary voice in order to speak out against what happened,
constantly reliving her past. Through the use of stage directions where she moves “hurriedly” in order
to “hide behind the curtains”, exemplifies the extent of her fear and its ability to control her, where
she is constantly running from her past and avoiding the confrontation of it. The fact that the stage
directions are given in short and simple sentences highlights the haste of her movements and panic
she is going through because of the arrival of the mysterious car.
a. What does the approaching car and car lights symbolize?
As for the car, it symbolizes the dictatorship, as strange unknown cars who would stop before your
house are a staple of the dictatorship, since the regime would send unmarked cars to the houses of
suspects. Furthermore this is further emphasized by the presence of the car lights which give off bright
light akin to a flashlight or search light. This accordingly represents the light used in an interrogation
when probing for answers and also foreshadows Roberto’s representation of the military dictatorship.
a. Are there any repeated words or idioms Dr. Miranda employs?
• Teensy weensy
• Nietzche
• That we can never entirely possess that female soul.
• The real real truth
Act 1 Summary:
The first act begins with an epigraph stating, “The time is the present and the place, a country that is
probably Chile but could be any country that has given itself a democratic government just after a long
period of dictatorship,” thereby centering itself in the context of the post dictatorship era of
reconciliation that dominated Chile. This accordingly creates a microcosm of the country of Chile (as
represented through the setting of Chile) and the three characters introduced; Paulina Salas (the
victim), Gerardo Escobar – her husband who is a lawyer and on the Rettig commission (the
mediator/democratic government after dictatorship), and Roberto Miranda (the victimizer). Whereby
the events of the plot take place with Paulina hearing a car approach the house and beginning to get
agitated and afraid, causing her to reach for the gun and hide behind the curtains, listing for Gerardo.
This detail was added by Dorfman in order to emphasize the fragile calm in a country very new to
democracy, and the still lagging behind mentality of the people trying to cope with the radical shift.
The topic of conversation between Paulina and Gerardo shifts as they converse about Gerardo’s
position leading the commission (allusion to the Rettig commission) as they attempt to uncover the
abuses committed under the military junta regime. Where their conversation turns sour, as Paulina
bitterly argues about the commission effectiveness in bringing closure when they would only
investigate the “most serious cases”—meaning the ones that ended in death (representing the POV of
many victims who never really got closure for the crimes perpetrated against them no matter how
traumatizing).

After finishing the first act, with Paulina tying Roberto up, my initial thoughts after reading were racing
as I attempted to catch up with the plot as it headed in a direction I didn’t completely expect and was
trying to rational together so that the puzzle would become clearer. Accordingly, after finishing this
chapter, it compelled me to dive further into the history of Chilean dictatorship and the new democratic
era of the 90s. One thing I found very interesting was the discussion in class surrounding the message
at the Chilean national stadium which states “A people without memory is a people without future.” an
interesting motto that fits the overall tone of the play so far.

Act 2 Summary:
Act two begins with Paulina’s dramatic monologue, slowly revealing to the reader her backstory as a
character, narrating sarcastically to Roberto the past behind her trauma (slowly helping her heal back
together). However, as Gerardo arrives back at the house and attempts to stop Paulina, she is
prompted to pick up the gun which symbolizes Paulina’s voice as she metamorphosizes into a vindictive
woman who desires revenge and justice for the horrors committed against her. Gerardo begs Paulina
to “see reason” and give Roberto a chance to defend himself, where she counters by suggesting placing
him on trial as physically and metaphorically depicted through the cassette recorder and the tapes.
Paulina wishes to record everything; this is a marked contrast to the way things were under the
previous regime, during which people could be made to disappear with a trace. Paulina reminds
Roberto who is in control of the situation. Paulina puts forward a different idea of justice, suggesting
that the recording of Roberto’s crimes for posterity is as important as punishment. In exposing the
truth, she feels she would be closer to moving on. She also shows that she isn’t just thinking of herself
but sees her actions as an attempt to get some kind of justice for many other victims too. However,
she does imply to Gerardo at the end of the scene that she is not a hundred percent certain that
Roberto is the man she thinks he is.

As the act ends, we the readers/ the audience are given more clues as to the direction Dorfman is taking
the play in, where he attempts to get across to the audience (who are fresh from dictatorship with a
message that is more personal and meaningful) the slippery slope of a cycle of violence, further enabling
me to make personal connections to the cycle of violence rampant in the middle east (particularly since
the beginning of the 21st century) and depicting to the world Dorfman’s warnings in this play.
Act 3 Summary:
Lastly this final act leads up to the climax at the end of the act, with Paulina narrating the details of her
torture at the hands of the military dictatorship describing her initial thoughts on the Doctor and
recounting how he put on Schubert’s quartet and what effect that had in the darkness after “three
days” without food. Roberto’s voice takes over from Paulina, continuing with her discussion. The
second movement from Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” plays. As Roberto recounts the story he
was given from Gerardo, he slips up by correcting the name “bud” to “stud” that was deliberately
switched in order to validate the authenticity of his confession, thereby proving to Paulina that she has
the right man. She says she isn’t going to kill Roberto because he’s guilty, but because he hasn’t
repented at all. She then laments over why it is always people like her “who have to sacrifice, why are
we always the ones who have to make concessions?” She says she always has to “bite her tongue”—
but not this time. This time, she says, she will “do justice” in one case, at least. “What do we lose by
killing one of them?” she asks. By “people like her,” Paulina means victims on the one hand, but is also
implying “women” more generally. She is asking why she has no say in the way justice is administered,
questioning why she is expected to accept the status quo when the ones who decide judgement like
Gerardo did not face the trials and tribulations her and many other victims did in order to put their
pasts behind them (depicting the disconnect of the Rettig commission from the victims). Her question
at the end is one of the central ethical dilemmas of the play—whether it’s legitimate to kill someone
who has committed terrible acts, or if that erodes society’s moral standards yet further. Roberto and
Paulina freeze as music by Mozart drifts in. Here, the stage directions give instructions for a giant mirror
to descend from the ceiling of the theatre, forcing the “members of the audience to look at
themselves.” Spotlights pick out individual members of the audience as the music plays on. This is a
highly disruptive moment in which the audience’s experience of the play is completely changed. The
giant mirror is an expressionistic device with deliberately obvious connotations, Dorfman wants the
literal reflection to force audience members to personally reflect on what they’ve seen and, more
importantly, where they stand on the problems posed in the play. It also leaves the play itself on a cliff-
hanger, making it unclear whether Paulina shoots Roberto or not.

Reflection After Finishing the play:

After finishing the play Death and the Maiden, by Ariel Dorfman, I was able to go on a journey with the
story throughout the twists and turns of the 3 different acts of the play. Going into the play I didn’t
know what to expect from the story, especially due to the tense but otherwise quiet first scene of act
1. However, as Paulina began to reclaim her voice and we began to learn more about her past, did the
puzzle pieces connect, about the dictatorship. The whole play symbolically represents the transition
process from a dictatorship to a democracy. The theme of the cycle of violence definitely resonated
with me, as someone who has witnessed the rise of the Arab spring in the 2010s and the subsequent
strife for democracy and political freedom, and in turn the questions many of these states had in the
aftermath of the fall of a regime similar to Chile such as Libya, Iraq, and Tunisia. This story also gives
voice to many of the victims of dictatorships both in Chile and around the world, especially those
victims who have yet to achieve closure like Paulina, and through the flashbacks in Paulina’s monologs
we the readers experience a before and after of the days of the dictatorship, in order to set the scene
for the many questions circling around the play, like how to move on?
Symbolism
Symbol Explanation + Evidence

The gun is a phallic symbol that represents power and a capacity for violence and
Gun
control.

Representing a microcosm of Chile, the mirror reflects the three roles assigned to the
Mirror
characters of victim, moderator and victimizer

Tape The tape recorder symbolizes the theme of truth and the trial and Paulina’s reclaiming
recorder of the truth of the trauma she went through.

It represents the idea of unknowability and the uncertainty that continuously hangs
Sea
along the play. Paulina also consistently looks out at the sea when recounting her past.

Schubert in death and the maiden can represent two primary components, it can either
represent the idealistic and civilized aspect of society which was all but shattered during
Paulina’s captivity, as it is something elegant playing during a horrific experience. It is
also representative of the cycle of violence and closure that occurs throughout the play
Schubert
ronically Sschubert’s Death and the Mmaiden was played for Paulina as she was being
tortured and raped, and once again during the role reversal, when Paulina tortures
Roberto, paralleling both the actions of the doctor and the dictatorial regime, thereby
highlighting the lack of control the cycle of violence.

Thematic concepts:
• Forgiveness
• Trauma
• Truth
• Justice

Paper 2:

What is paper two

Now that we have completed at least half an oral, we will now move onto a carrying out a Paper 2
analysis. So, a paper 2 is an exam that has 3-4 prompt questions and depending on the options the I
would choose one of them and write a compare and contrast essay between two of the literary works
that I have taken in class in order to answer the question to the best of my ability.

Structure of paper 2:
1. Introductory paragraph:
a) Hook – addressing the concept behind the question: for example, is the question is
about destiny, talk about destiny in general as a hook, whether using a quote or a
statement.
b) Context: brief background and summary of both Text 1 and Text 2, as well as the
authors of the text types.
c) Thesis: what will be proven in relation to the question?
 d) Focus: How will the thesis be proven (using which authorial devices)? Depending on the
question sometimes a side needs to be given (especially seen in “discuss” and “to what
extent” questions).
2. Body Paragraph:
a) The topic sentence (link back to the thesis statement) (note: two body paragraphs
proving the similarities in linkage to the thesis and two body paragraphs proving the
differences)
b) Evidence – as proven through quotation or description of events within text 1 and 2 to
either compare or contrast them within the analysis
c) Analysis of authorial choice given in the evidence of proving the thesis statement
d) Link the answer through the analysis and evidence back to the question in order to
prove to the examiner that the point is relevant and answering the question
3. Concluding Paragraph:
a) Restate the thesis statement from the introduction now that the essay has answered
the question
b) Summarize the primary arguments (while comparing and contrasting)
c) Food for thought, in order to end the essay with a new dimension at looking at the
response.

Note to self: currently we are only practicing half a paper 2, meaning there will be no compare and
contrast yet, and will only be one text used (which is DATM).
Sample context paragraph:
Before delving into how both authors explore INSERT QUESTION it is important to understand why they
were written and their respective contexts of production. According to Dorfmann: “ there are not
enough plays which portray the reality of the harsh dictatorship”; and he bases his subject matter from
his own experience with totalitarian governments and the takeover that occurred in Chile in 1973,
where he was forced into exile due to his political beliefs. Upon the reinstatement of a democratic
government, he writes the play in order to make all sectors of society think about the implications of
themes such as revenge, justice and the cycle of violence, and ponder about the correct decisions to
be taken. He thus creates a microcosm of a country which “could be any country, which is most likely
Chile, and their experience after a dictatorship”, setting it in a beach house, creating 3 main characters
which represent various sectors of society: Paulina Salas the victims of a totalitarian regime, Roberto
Miranda, the victimizers, and Gerardo Escobar the road to transition. Thus the context and setting of
the play could appeal to a large audience, principally from countries in South America which faced
dictatorship during the 1970s and 80s, where the transition to democracy and the dilemma of entering
peacefully into democracy was vividly experienced. In order to express his message he writes the play
in a post-modernist style, using important characterization traits, and visual and auditory symbols such
as the gun, the mirror, and Schubert’s String Quartet “Death and the Maiden”.

Formative + feedback
Thereby, after discussing different potential paper 2 questions in class, we were tasked with
completing a practice formative paper 2 essay, just to get the feel of how to complete the structure
illustrated above. After carrying it out, my initial thoughts are: “figuring out how to condense all the
tight material into an essay in the span of a double”.

Plan:
To what extent does death and the maiden show that an individual is in control of her own
destiny?

Intro paragraph:
• Hook about destiny
• Context about the play
• Thesis, “this essay attempts to analyze the extent dorfmann depicts the theme of destiny,
through the use of characterization, symbolism, narrative sections, and stage directions…”

First paragraph: is paulina in control of her own destiny…

o Flashbacks to the past through paulina’s monologs a strategic way for paulina to speak
and tell her own story (her voice)
o Gun
▪ Paulina: controls destiny when posing violence
▪ Paulina imposes the gun to force conversation (roberto’s confession)
▪ Roberto and Gerardo: cannot control destiny because Paulina holds the power
▪ Irony
▪ Stage directions
▪ Foreshadowing at the beginning, how it represents her control
o Tape Recorder
▪ Represents the trial
▪ Paulina records Roberto's confession to secure future safety
▪ Theme of justice
o Paulina’s metamorphosis
 ▪ She was in control when she chose to start helping the people before she was
raped
▪ How she finally was able to leave the house
▪ Use of light/moonlight → haunting power of the past
▪ Paulina, can’t listen to schubert, (a part of her died), but at the end she can…
she wants to reclaim her schubert, her husband
o Paulina maintained a semblance of control when she kept gerardo’s name secret
▪ How anyone could have been in paulina’s shoes
The “maiden” (paulina) has managed to gain control over “death” (roberto)

Second paragraph: how she isn’t in control of her destiny:

• Mirror (not in control)
o Microcosm of Chile how the characters represent 3 aspects of chile and how their
actions had to reflect that
o Asks the audience what they will do to choose their destiny
o Although they weren’t in control in the past, what will they do (reflecting on Paulina)
o Tone & mood (realistic, gritty tone)
• Schubert (lack of control of the destiny of cycle of violence acted upon the characters)
o Coming full circle cause its the music Paulina listned to while being raped and is the
music she plays for Roberto
o Parallelism of paulina and how she mirrors the actions of the dictatorship
• Sea
o represents unknowability of destiny
o Poses the question of destiny, of whether paulina can move on and whether the
audience and the country can move on
• The margarita
o How it represents the cyclic nature of start to finish
▪ gender roles and patriarchal chile, use of little... she's not in control of her
destiny, she cant speak, she is forced to take the gun
▪ Paulina and her surroundings do not change as Gerardo still talks about her
“margaritas”
▪ Use of diction of words like silly, and baby…
• Climax → whether she kills him or not
No matter what she does she still gonna be haunted by roberto and no matter what she does
nothing is really gonna change
Essay:

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice, it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a

thing to be achieved. Its route is based upon the decisions made and chances taken in tough situations.
This interpretation of the theme of destiny is emphasized in Dorfmann’s allegorical play “Death and
the Maiden'', as the play consistently postulates the question of whether an individual is in control of
their own destiny, as the events of the plot unfold and the metamorphosis of the protagonist Paulina
takes place throughout the three acts of the play. However, before delving into how Dorfman explores
to what extent an individual is in control of her own destiny in Death and the Maiden, it is important
to understand why they were written and their respective contexts of production. According to
Dorfmann: “ there are not enough plays which portray the reality of the harsh dictatorship”; and he
bases his subject matter from his own experience with totalitarian governments and the takeover that
occurred in Chile in 1973, where he was forced into exile due to his political beliefs. Upon the
reinstatement of a democratic government, he writes the play in order to make all sectors of society
think about the implications of themes such as revenge, justice and the cycle of violence, and ponder
about the correct decisions to be taken. He thus creates a microcosm of a country which “could be any
country, which is most likely Chile, and their experience after a dictatorship”, setting it in a beach
house, creating 3 main characters which represent various sectors of society, the victim, the mediator
and the victimizer, whereby Dorfmann entangles the journey’s of all 3 characters in order to depict the
extent of one’s own control over their own destiny. This essay attempts to analyze the extent Dorfman
depicts the theme of destiny, through his usage of a post-modernist style, the three stages of Paulina’s
characterization and development, visual and auditory symbols and stage directions.
To begin with, Dorfmann effectively employs a specific narrative structure and style initially, as
well as symbolism to characterize Paulina as a dynamic character who regains control over her destiny.
When Paulina is initially introduced she is characterized as a broken terrified woman reeling from the
aftermath of what happened to her during the dictatorship, a timid woman who lacks a primary voice
to properly articulate her self, whereby through the use of the stage directions where she “hurriedly”
stands up and “hides behind the curtains” connotes to the reader Paulina’s fear of taking control,
consistently hiding and running away from such confrontation as to not repeat the trauma of her past.
This tense atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that follows her is emphasized by the use of short and
simple sentences highlighting the haste in which she is operating and the single track mind of hoping
that whoever is outside her door is not the same people who initially took her, as she “hides the gun
away. She stands behind the curtains. The car drives off, the lights sweeping the room again.” By
keeping herself hidden, Paulina herself becomes a visual embodiment of her past. She can not fully
return to a life of light or optimism until she fully explores the pain she has been carrying around, which
is like a shadow hanging over her. However, once directly confronted with her trauma in the shape of
Roberto and having nowhere else to run, she confronts and seizes control physically and
metaphorically of her demons when she ties Roberto up and reaches for the loaded gun, which
symbolizes the beginning of her metamorphosis from the timid housewife to a vindictive woman who
wants to reclaim her destiny and by extension what she lost. The usage of flashbacks in Paulina’s
monolog to break up the chronological flow of the play enables Paulina to reestablish her voice. This is
aided by the gun, which allows her to take control of a situation in which she could otherwise be
physically overpowered. The gun which is a phallic symbol, and represents the male capacity for
violence further expressesing Paulina’s desire to assert a sense of control over life and narrative, and
a way to compensate for her vulnerability, because “as soon as she stops pointing the gun at them, all
dialogue will automatically terminate. If she puts it down he’ll use his strength to win the argument”.
The gun accordingly also symbolizes the concrete barrier Paulina puts between her and Gerardo, finally
showing the reader that she can be independent and doesn’t require her husband’s hand to hold as it
appeared in Act 1, and marks the marking of her reclaiming of her destiny, a destiny not controlled
anymore by Gerardo. Furthermore, the gun cements a shift in the tone of the character as her more
subdued nature in Act 1 is replaced by a more vulgar and vengeful tone and is emphasized through the
use of moonlight in order to depict the power shifts and her transformations into a more dominant
character throughout the play. Moreover, the use of the tape recorder symbolizes the theme of truth
and the trial and Paulina’s reclaiming of the truth of the trauma she went through. Whilst the trial
represents Paulina’s confrontation and processing of what happened to her in order for her to finally
move on and heal, once again symbolizing the attempt of Chilean victims to receive closure from the
atrocities of the dictatorship. In her attempt to move on from the past, it also represents her ability to
control her destiny through the securing of her future. Lastly the significance of the title is important
in order to analyze the extent to which Paulina is able to control her own destiny, as Death and the
Maiden alludes to the English folk song Death and the lady, which discusses the story of a rich lady who
was betrayed by death. However in Death and the Maiden, Dorfmann presents a role reversal in which
Paulina who represents the maiden finally gains control over the character of “death”, as represented
by Roberto, deciding his fate and her own destiny, as to whether he lives or dies, and whether she can
gain closure or not.
Furthermore, Dorfmann’s use of authorial choices is not limited to the narrative structure, he
also employs metaphors in a particular semantic field of diction and further utilizes symbolism to
characterize how Paulina is incapable of fully regaining control of her Destiny by the end of the play.
To begin with, although it appears that Paulina gains a semblance of control, by the end of the play it
appears to be but a facade, as from overall beginning to end, not much of Paulina’s arc changes. For
starters, Paulina is initially referred to by Gerardo as “poor little”, “baby”, “silly girl”, creatinges a
condescending and patronizing semantic field of diction, as she is thought of as a weak, powerless
child, who could relapse at any moment. Although she does gain a semblance of power through her
control of the gun, she is still repeatedly called sick and ill by Gerardo, implying to the reader that the
control she regained is temporary and would cease once she lets go of the gun. This ties back into the
gender roles and patriarchal Chile, since Roberto repeatedly tells Gerardo to control “his wife”, and in
turn is forced to take the gun in order for her voice to finally be heard, even though it is temporary.
This is further re-emphasized in the final scene through the symbolism of the margaritas, as similar to
the first act Gerardo repeats the line about the Margarita saying “Maybe we could have a couple of
drinks at home. Pau mixes a margarita that’ll stand your hair on end.” accentuating her role as the
perfect housewife, and in turn symbolizing the cyclic nature of the play from start to finish, highlighting
that Paulina does not have control over her destiny. In addition the symbolism of Schubert’s music
further adds to the cyclic nature of the play, whereby, ironically Sschubert’s Ddeath and the Mmaiden
was played for Paulina as she was being tortured and raped, and once again during the role reversal,
when Paulina tortures Roberto, paralleling both the actions of the doctor and the dictatorial regime,
thereby highlighting the lack of control of the destiny of cycle of violence acted upon the characters.
Lastly due to the play representing a microcosm of Chile, the mirror reflects the three roles assigned
to the characters of victim, moderator and victimizer and in turn sets in stone the inability of the any
of the characters to control the primary framework of their destiny due to the roles in which they have
to symbolize, meaning that the trauma the characters went through like Paulina was necessary in order
for Dorfmann to reflect the effect of the dictatorship on the audience through the usage of the mirror.
Teacher’s comments:
I take it you would start a paragraph with this post-modernist device?
You have extra time, and this generally becomes automated in further practices, so great Marian!
A5
B5
C is v promising.. Unfinished 3
D 4/5

Overall: 17/20
Reflection on Formative
Yessss! I am quite happy with the outcome of my essay here. I worked very hard on this essay, in order
to reflect my complete understanding of the play and analyze to the best of my ability, considering this
was a great result to achieve prior to the formative assessment the following week. I am especially
happy with the result considering the fact that I did not complete my essay ontime. I am particularly
proud of my results in criterion A and B, considering how far I’ve come since the beginning of the year
with this result. I made sure to take note of the feedback my teacher gave me in order to improve and
implement it in the upcoming formative assessment. However I’m still looking for more improvement
since there are still mistakes to be corrected and marks to be won. I have to work on my time
management in order to articulate myself to the utmost of my ability and finish in time, so that I can
increase my grade in criterion C.

Pre-summative prep
Dorfmann quotes:
“Memory is a constant obsession for me, memory of the past is counter to those like military leaders
who would obliterate others, who would forget them, ignore them, neglect them, erase them from
the earth
“This can be set in chile or any other country that suffered dictatorship” → epigraph
Quotes on change:
“Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change
anything” nothing permanent except change”

Paulina characterization:
Beginning of the play
She hurriedly stands up, goes to the other room, looks out the window. The car brakes, its motor
still running, the lights blasting her. She goes to the sideboard, takes out a gun,

Search light is symbolism for an interrogation

My wife makes a margarita that will make your hair stand on end...

Poor little love. It must’ve got cold, right, the—

Always got to be the wife who has to fix everything

Shortcuts in dialogue makes her interaction with gerardo tense

If his wife happened to remember to fix the spare, right? (This busted spare tire serves as a metaphor
for the problems in Gerardo and Paulina’s marriage)

hides the gun away. She stands behind the curtains. The car drives off, the lights sweeping the room
again.

I knew that you’d find someone to help you out. Was she pretty at least? Sexy?

"I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to fix things up so that everything turns out
right for you." → paulina’s resentment towards Gerardo

If I were to accept, I must know I can

count on you, that you don’t feel... if you were to have a relapse, it could leave me...

“I was wild and fearless, willing to do anything. I can’t believe that I didn’t have an ounce of fear in
my whole body at that time.”

Only the most serious cases?

Only the most serious?
Beyond repair. Irreparable, huh?

As she speaks, Paulina begins to laugh softly but with increasing hysteria
Paulina, Paulina. That’s enough Paulina. (He takes her into his arms. She
slowly calms down.) Silly. Silly girl, my baby.

Beginning of Metamorphosis

“the use of moonlight in order to depict the power shifts and her transformations into a more
dominant character throughout the play”
Only the moonlight, weaker than before,

“As soon as she stops pointing the gun at them, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If she puts
it down he’ll use his strength to win the argument”

“Of course I’m going to listen to you. Haven’t I always listened to you?”

“(She gestures to Gerardo, who takes the gag off Roberto. Then she indicates the cassette
recorder.)”

“My God, Paulina, shut up! Let him say what he…”

Threatening, yes you were. Let’s get this clear, Doctor. Threat time is over.
Out there you bastards may still give the orders, but in here, for now, I’m in command.
Now is that clear?

My God, Paulina! Doctor Miranda, she has never spoken like this in her
life.

The Doctor’s used to this sort of language...Come on, Doctor. Front or rear?

I already told you—put him on trial.

PAULINA: Kill them? Kill him? As he didn’t kill me, I think it wouldn’t be fair to—
GERARDO: It’s good to know that, Paulina, because you would have to kill me too.
I’m warning you that if you intend to kill him, you’re going to have to kill me first.

This is anaphora → repetition of kill

“Oh, my little man,”

Because of your mad wife, who was mad because she stayed silent and is
now mad because she can speak?

And me? What do I need? Look at me, look at me!

Yes, look at you, love. You’re still a prisoner, you stayed there behind with
them, locked in that basement. For fifteen years you’ve done nothing with your life. Not
a thing. Look at you, just when we’ve got the chance to start all over again and you
begin to open all the wounds... Isn’t it time we—?

"You be reasonable. They never did anything to you." → represents the fact that the mediator came
out on top

“I haven’t opened my mouth to even whisper a breath of what I’m thinking, years living in terror of my
own…but I’m not dead, I thought I was but I’m not and I can speak, damn it – so for God’s sake let me
have my say.”

"I'll leave you men to fix the world."

"When crazy people have power, you've got to indulge them." (irony)

"She isn't the voice of civilization, you are."

rocking herself

This time I am going to think about myself, about what I need. If only to do justice in one case, just one.
What do we lose? What do we lose by killing one of them? What do we lose? What do we lose?”

Themes
Truth

On a sideboard is a cassette recorder and a lamp.

"People can die from an excessive dose of the truth."

Forgiveness

Let him loose, so he won’t come back ever again.

opening old wounds.

Mafia, yes, a secret brotherhood, nobody gives out names and they cover
each others’ backs.

To put it brutally, you are her therapy, Doctor.

Fantasies of a diseased mind. She could have latched onto any man who
came through that door...

I’m sorry to have to agree with you. You’re absolutely right. Your mother
is not responsible for what you do. I don’t know why men always insist on attacking
mothers instead of—Why do they always say son of a bitch, why the bitch instead of the
father who taught them in the first place to—

Maybe it liberates her from her phantoms, how can I know what foes on in
people’s heads after they’ve been—but I think I understand the need of hers because it
coincides with what we were talking about last night, the whole country’s need to put into
words what happened to us.
 Real macho men blow people’s brains out and fuck
women when they’re tied up on cots. Not like me. I’m a stupid, yellow, soft faggot
because I defend the son of a bitch who screwed my wife and destroyed her life.

An eye for an eye is here, a tooth for and tooth, right, isn’t that our philosophy?

"So someone did terrible things to you and now you’re doing something terrible to me and tomorrow
somebody else is going to – on and on and on.”

So I can listen to my Schubert without thinking that you’ll also be listening to it, soiling my day and my
Schubert and my country and my husband.

Practice plans prior to exam: so, in order to be as efficient as possible in the upcoming paper 2 exam,
I decided to open different past paper 2 questions and create different plans in order to articulate
myself better and practice these critical thinking skills.
"Change is inevitable." To what extent is this true in the two works you have read?
Paragraph 1: Change is inevitable:
• Paulina’s metamorphosis
o She was in control when she chose to start helping the people before she was raped
o How she finally was able to leave the house
o Use of light/moonlight → haunting power of the past
o Paulina, can’t listen to schubert, (a part of her died), but at the end she can… she wants
to reclaim her schubert, her husband
o Use of profanity indicates metamorphosis2
• The Gun symbolism
o Paulina: controls destiny when posing violence
o Paulina imposes the gun to force conversation (roberto’s confession)
o Roberto and Gerardo: cannot control destiny because Paulina holds the power
o Irony
o Stage directions
o Foreshadowing at the beginning, how it represents her control
• Tape recorder
o Change from dictatorship to democracy
o Rettig commission
• Microcosm and mirror

Paragraph 2: Change is not inevitable

• Margarita
o Gender roles and the phallocentric society
o How it represents the cyclic nature of start to finish
▪ gender roles and patriarchal chile, use of little... she's not in control of her
destiny, she cant speak, she is forced to take the gun
▪ Paulina and her surroundings do not change as Gerardo still talks about her
“margaritas”
▪ Dialogue
• Schubert
o Cycle of violence
o Dramatic irony
• Climax → whether she kills him or not
 o No matter what she does she still gonna be haunted by roberto and no matter what she
does nothing is really gonna change
• Nietsche
o Nietzsche claimed the exemplary human being must craft his/her own identity through
self-realization and do so without relying on anything transcending that life—such as
God or a soul.
What role does POWER play in each text, and how could this link to the social, cultural or political
context of the time?
Paragraph 1: lack of power
• Lack of change
o Marital dynamic of her and Gerardo
▪ Margaritas
▪ Gender roles
▪ Dialogue
o Climax
• Cycle of violence
• Sea
o Lack of control
Paragraph 2: presence of power
• Dictatorship
• Roberto and paulina’s dynamic → he becomes her therapy + the metamorphosis of this
dynamic
• Paulina regaining power
• Gun
• Tape recorder
How do literary works both reflect and challenge the spirit of the times in which they were written?
Paragraph 1: pre-dictatorship
• Gender roles
o After dictatorship, however, sexism is banned
• Metamorphosis of Gun which parallels Paulina’s metaphor
o Foreshadows
o Shows the letting go of the norms established in the dictatorship
o Flashbacks / monolog
• Sea
o Stage directions describing Paulina looking out into sea

Paragraph 2: post-dictatorship
• Tape recorder
• Paulina’s metamorphosis
• Catharsis of Paulina
• Nietsche
• Theater
o Change in setting
o Mirror
o House
▪ microcosm
• Schubert: forgiveness
• Post-modernist device: inability to forget the past
• Symbolism
• Paulina represents inability to move on
 • Gerardo represents desire to move on
• Conflict between them
• Roberto is the dictatorship

Paper 2 first Summative + reflection

Reflection:
Due to the preparation, I had in the practice formative
a couple weeks prior to the first paper 2 summative, as
well as the planning and breaking down of different
paper 2 questions in the week leading up to the
summative, it was easier for me to begin writing the
paper 2, as I was able to finish it this time around instead
of having a body and conclusion left to go like in the
previous formative. This was due to my process of
memorizing as much of the quotes as possible in order
to plan for the first 10 minutes quickly and seamlessly
move on. It was necessary for me to plan, the essay as
it definitely allowed me better breathing space to think
of the different approaches to answering the question
and avoiding the common pitfall that many in the class
experienced, which was of not directly answering the
question. It also helped be more concise as I was able to
take those ten minutes to organize my thoughts in order
of most important to mention to least important to
write, which during the last part of the exam helped, as
I had to cut certain parts from my initial answer due to
a lack of time. My overall grades for the paper two were
a 4/5 in Criterion A, a 5/5 in Criterion B, a 4/5 in Criterion
C, and lastly a mark which was originally a 3-4/5 in
Criterion D, however, was put down as a 3/5 due to poor
syntax. Regarding my struggles, although unlike last
time, I was able to squeeze most of what I had to say
within the essay, I still was very pressed for time, even
though I already have 25% extra time. This negatively
impacted my grade in Criterion D, as I didn’t have
enough time to properly articulate myself in the
capability, I know I have, which led to extremely long
run-on sentences that took away from the meaning of
the analysis and thus the grade from Criterion A.
However, overall, I am pretty pleased with a 16/20.
Paper 2 second summative + reflection

Reflection:

Due to the practice offered by the previous first

paper 2 summative, and the preparation through
the planning and breaking down of different paper
2 questions in the week leading up to the
summative, it was easier for me to begin writing
the paper 2, and I was able to finish the exam at a
significantly quicker rate than before actually
leaving 5 minutes to spare for proof-reading post
exam. I took the feedback taken by the teacher
during the reflection session after the first exam
seriously, and was able to enhance the overall
scoring in Criterion D. It was necessary for me to
plan, the essay as it definitely allowed me better
breathing space to think of the different
approaches to answering the question and avoiding
the common pitfall that many in the class
experienced, which was of not directly answering
the question. It also helped be more concise as I
was able to take those ten minutes to organize my
thoughts in order of most important to mention to
least important to write, which during the last part
of the exam helped, as I had to cut certain parts
from my initial answer due to a lack of time. My
overall grades for the paper two were a 5/5 in
Criterion A (whereby after enhancing the overall
syntax, my ideas became clearer and my analysis
and in turn ability to answer the question
improved), a 4/5 in Criterion B, a 4/5 in Criterion C,
and lastly a 4/5 in Criterion D. I am overall, very
pleased with the outcome of this summative, as I
have finally achieved a level 7 in a Language and
Literature: A course. However, I will be looking
forward to improving this overall grade in the
upcoming following paper 2 summative.
BOW 3: Mustafa Hassona Photographs:
Regarding BOW that could suit Death and the Maiden, it needs to have a similar thematic concept that
could tie in to form an overall global issue. Accordingly, since DATM follows the themes of oppression
and justice, the photography of a Gaza Palestinian photographer and journalist will be utilized in order
to explore the oppression of Israel similar to the oppression of the dictatorship within Chile.

Some of his notorious photographs include the following image:

Mustafa Hassona’s image of a bare-chested Palestinian
protester travelled the internet like wildfire. As he scoops a
prize in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards, the
photojournalist shares the story of its creation. This image is
generally compared with the allusion to Delacroix’s famous
1830 painting, Liberty Leading the People, noting similarities
between the central characters’ poses and the rousing mood of
both images, and the rise oppressed people against their
oppressors. In Palestine (the Palestinians against the Israeli
occupation), and in France (the common man against the
monarchy). With the people using the common weapons
attributed to their respective groups, the French revolutionaries
using rifles, and the Palestinians using rocks. There is also
biblical allusion to the story of David versus Goliath, where
David is represented through the Palestinians fighting against
the much stronger and larger Israeli occupation.

Following a discussion in class about the BOW of Mustafa Hassona, we were split up into partners
and tasked with analyzing a photograph and extracting a possible global issue.

Global Issue: How the subjugation and brutalization of civilians under an oppressive regime, results in
lifelong trauma.
• Symbolism
o The need of the woman on the right to be comforted through her trauma, symbolizes
Palestine’s struggle to be heard and experience support and comfort, accentuating how
lonely in their struggle they really are
• Lighting symbolic of a spotlight/focalpoint (check)
o creates a freeze frame effect + fast shutter speed, the ray of light shows a sense of hope
and is symbolic of a calm before the storm. (a focal point, concentrated by the fibonacci
spiral using the rule of thirds, that directs the viewer’s eye towards the woman’s face,
beginning with the two women, and extending towards the background showing the
cycle of violence, considering that they have been fighting this for over the last 70 years,
with no end in sight to the occupation.)
• Body language + Facial expressions
o Anguished facial expressions and the two women clutching at each other for dear life,
shows grief stricken and tormented feelings
o This portrays the effect of the Israeli regime by causing evidential trauma.
• Rule of thirds (check)
o The two women are placed in the center of the quadrants, directing the viewer's eye to
them, allowing for one to initially recognize the reverberations of brutalization against
them. The shadowed background is then depicted in the other 8 boxes, amplifying the
constant state of pandemonium innocent civilians live in.
• Balance (check)
o The photographer creates an asymmetrical balance giving a feeling of equal weight,
attention, towards the suffering of the palestinian people, as the different people placed
in the background within the picture create a sense of equilibrium, and in turn causes a
sense of tension and unease that reflects the mood and atmosphere of the conflict and
photo
• Camera angle (perspective) (check)
o The image is taken from a low, dutch angle, stimulating the focus on the subject of the
image. The purpose of such camera angles is to exacerbate the chaotic motion still
occurring in the background, respective to the irremediable effects the brutalization of
such innocent citizens has caused.
• Color / exposure & contrast (check)
o Black: it evokes the feeling of outrage and melancholy, which allows the viewer coupled
with the focus on the feelings to empathize with the situation, due to the raw emotions
being captured.
▪ It is also tied to death and all things evil, which in turn contrasts with the aura of
light being lit on the women, thereby contrasting the civilians as pure with the
depraved regime that causes the grief and trauma that the women are reacting
to.
o Cool colors: The focal point of the image consists of only cool colors, mainly being blue
and pink, juxtaposing with the unilluminated background, as though the audience is
losing themselves in an endless sea of trauma.
• Shadows (check)
o The shadows imply a deeper layer of agony
o The shadows in motion portray how even in this one frozen moment there are many
other examples that weren't as lucky to be shown, and that the cycle of violence is
continuously perpetuated, especially since contrasting the women in the center they
are in constant motion.
Photography terms
Term: Use:
Composition The arrangement of subjects and objects in the frame of your photo.
Subject The object, subject, or thing that is the main point of your photo.
Focal point Where the viewer's eye rests in your photo.
Exposure The amount of light needed to take a photograph.
Overexposed Allowing too much light into your camera for your photograph. Your photo will
be too light or white.
Underexposed Allowing too little light into your camera for your photograph. Your photo will
be too dark or black.
Rule of Thirds The composition technique that breaks your frame into 9 even squares and
concentrates on keeping your subject outside of the center square, to keep
your viewer's eye moving around the composition.
Lines The composition technique concentrating on lines to make your photograph.
Vertical lines mean power and strength. Horizontal lines show relaxation and
calm. Diagonal lines show movement and are dynamic. Leading lines bring the
viewer's eye into your photo and show depth.
Texture The composition technique using different textures to create the focal point
of your photo. Angled light is needed to bring out the textures, photographing
during the golden hour is the best way to emphasize texture.
Perspective The composition technique using object placement, vanishing points, and
receding lines to create the illusion of depth and 3-dimensionality in your
photo.
Repetition The composition technique using repetition of objects, colors, textures, or lines to
create interest and attention for your viewer. Breaking the repetition is also a way
to draw interest for your viewer. Odd numbered groupings are best - 3 or 5.
Framing The composition technique using objects in your photo to frame your subject,
creating depth and interest.
Shadows When properly used, they will create depth, contrast and added interest for your
viewer.
Resolution The number of pixels per inch in your image. Often referred to in pixels per inch or
ppi. A higher number will give you more detail and fineness in your image.
PPI Pixels Per Inch - the number of pixels per inch on your screen or image - the number
talks about your resolution. Larger numbers will give you more detail and
smoothness in your image.
Contrast The range of difference between the highlights and shadows in your photo.
Contrast will add depth and a feeling of 3 dimensionality to your image.
Shutter Speed The amount of time the shutter inside the camera is open to expose your photo.
Oral Summative

English A: Language and Literature

Session: May 2022

Literary Text: Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman, 1990

Non Literary text: Palestinian Rights of return protests, Mustafa Hassona

Global Issue: How the cyclical violence subjected to civilians due to an oppressive regime results in the cathartic need
for freedom?

Literary extract: extract from the Death and the maiden Act III scene 3, by Ariel Dorfman

1PAULINA: Small lies, small variations, that I inserted in my story to Gerardo and you
corrected most of them. It turned out just as I planned. You were so scared that if you
didn’t get it right... But I’m not going to kill you because you’re guilty, Doctor, but
because you haven’t repented at all. I can only forgive someone who really repents, ho
stands up amongst those he has wronged and says, I did this. I did it, and I’ll never do it
5again.

ROBERTO: What more do you want? You’ve got more than all the victims in this
country will ever get. (He gets down on his knees.) What more do you want?

PAULINA: The truth, Doctor. The truth and I’ll let you go. Repent and I’ll let you go.
You have ten seconds. One, two, three, four, five, six. Time is running out. Seven. Say
10it!

Roberto stands up.

ROBERTO: No, I won’t. Because even if I confess, you’ll never be satisfied. You’re
going to kill me anyway. So go ahead and kill me. I’m not going to let any sick woman
treat me like this. If you want to kill me, do it. But you’re killing an innocent man.
15
PAULINA: Eight.

ROBERTO: So someone did terrible things to you and now you’re doing something
terrible to me and tomorrow somebody else is going to—on and on and on. I have
children, two boys, a girl. Are they supposed to spend the next fifteen years looking for
you until they find you? And then—
20
PAULINA: Nine.

ROBERTO: Oh Paulina, isn’t it time we stopped?

PAULINA: And why does it always have to be the people like me who have to sacrifice,
why are we always the ones who have to make concessions when something has to be
25conceded, why always me who has to bite her tongue, why? Well, not this time. This
 time I am going to think about myself, about what I need. If only to do justice in one
case, just one case. What do we lose? What do we lose by killing one of them? What do we lose? What do
we lose?

They freeze in their positions as the lights begin to go down slowly. We begin to hear
music from the last movement of Mozart’s Dissonant Quartet. Paulina and Roberto are
30covered from view by a giant mirror which descends, forcing the audience to look at
themselves. For a few minutes, the Mozart Quartet is heard, while the spectators watch
32 themselves in the mirror. Selected moving spots flicker over the audience, picking out two or three at a
time, up and down rows.

Non literary extract: Palestinian Rights of return protests, 2019, Mustaffa Hassona

Oral – Recording of oral:

Script for oral:

The cyclical rise and fall of oppressive regimes has become a staple of both the 20th and 21st century
in which we have witnessed the repeated subjugation of civilians in order to further the facade of
power. The global issue is “How the cyclical violence subjected to civilians under an oppressive
regime result in the cathartic need for freedom?” emphasized through the play Death and the Maiden
written by Ariel Dorfman about the aftermath of Chilean dictatorship and a sample of Mustafa
Hassona’s photographs of Palestinian protests against the Apartheid regime of Israel.
To begin with, the context behind Dorfman’s play Death and the Maiden, is centered around the
attempt of the new democratic government to bring closure to the atrocities carried out by
dictatorship. He thus forms a microcosm of a country, while creating 3 main characters which represent
various sectors of society, focusing on the victim and victimizer
When Paulina is initially introduced, she is characterized as a broken woman reeling from the aftermath
of her trauma from the dictatorship, still trapped in her own personal hell, and lacking the catharsis of
freedom, she remains trapped in the beach house, symbolic of the old Chile. This atmosphere of fear
that follows her is emphasized by the use of short and simple sentences highlighting the haste in which
she is operating, hoping that whoever is outside her door is not the same oppressive regime that took
her. By keeping herself hidden, Paulina becomes a visual embodiment of her past. She cannot fully
return to a life of light until she explores the pain she has been carrying around and gets her catharsis.
The unknown car in the middle of the night coupled with the headlights symbolizes the kidnapping and
interrogation executed by the regime.
Schubert’s Death and the Maiden cements that the oppression imposed maintains the cycle of violence
and was ironically played for Paulina when she was being tortured and raped, and once again during
the role reversal, when Paulina tortures Roberto, paralleling the actions of the dictatorial regime
highlighting Paulina’s desperate grasp for closure.
Once directly confronted with her trauma in the shape of Roberto she confronts and seizes control
physically and metaphorically of her trauma as all her anger, pain, and suffering bubbles to the surface
culminating in her attack of Roberto symbolizing her metamorphosis caused by her cathartic need for
freedom and closure. Whereby the gun represents the cycle of violence, as it a staple weapon used by
both oppressive regimes and opposition forces to fight for their freedom.
Lastly Dorfman chooses the name “Death and the maiden” that alludes to the English folk song Death
and the lady, where he presents a role reversal as the maiden - Paulina, gains control over the character
of “death” Roberto and therefore finding her closure and catharsis.
As for the extract taken from the third scene in act 3 it revolves around the climax in the relationship
between Victim and victimizer as the cyclic nature of the play presents a role reversal in their dynamic.
In both cases, an individual is wrenching control over others. Where Paulina becomes more unhinged
as she reaches a crossroads moment of whether or not to kill him and commit to an eye for an eye.
Contrasting with Roberto’s saying, “So someone did terrible things to you and now you’re doing
something terrible to me and tomorrow somebody else is and—on and on.” The repetition highlights
the never-ending cycle of violence. Taking this further when he asks Paulina, “isn’t it time we stopped”
thereby parroting the same ethical questions Dorfman has about how far is too far to be considered
justice and instead a continuation of violence.

At the end of the scene, Paulina begins to question Roberto why it’s always people like her who have
to “sacrifice”, to “concede”, to “bite her tongue” and go against what she “needs” thereby creating a
submissive and trapped semantic field of diction, implying that their voices are physically and
metaphorically locked away. However, her ironic tone challenges this notion as she attempts to secure
her emotional and physical catharsis.
As emphasized through Dorfman’s use of Anaphora when she rhetorically asks both Roberto and the
audience “What do we lose? What do we lose by killing one of them? What do we lose?” This depicts
how desperate she really is for the release associated with the catharsis of closing one chapter and
starting a new beginning, highlighted by her short sentences showing how much more erratic and
obsessive she became.
This all climaxes at the end of the play where Paulina debates over Roberto’s fate and the continuation
of the cycle of violence. During this scene she enters the 3 stages of catharsis as she tries to expunge
her trauma for good. Instead, a giant mirror interrupts the scene leaving the audience with a powerful
image at the conclusion of a play whose central conflict remains otherwise unresolved. It also breaks
the fourth wall causing the audience to reflect on the moral dilemma surrounding the cycle of violence.
As for the body of Work, I will now begin with analyzing a photograph from the Palestinian
photographer Mustafa Hassona, which depict Palestinian Protests that took place from 2018–2019.
Hassona utilizes a medium shutter speed to capture a freeze frame effect, where the image of the boy
with a slingshot is clear at the center, whilst everything around him is blurry and in motion building
climax, highlighting this incident as one amongst many, with the violence of Israeli oppression fueling
a continual cycle of violence as Palestinians desperately rise-up to fight back against colonial regime
for over 70 years.
There is a ray of light above the child akin to a spotlight which is captured through the focal point
concentrated by the Fibonacci spiral and rule of thirds, adding emphasis on the scene, whereby the
light and warmer colors in the back of the picture resemble a ray of hope, that one day the occupation
will be over and would achieve their freedom from the open air prison “Gaza”, and gain catharsis from
the PTSD and trauma that many civilians face. This contrasts with the surrounding black smoke that is
attributed to conflict and war, and in turn the color choice ties the picture to death and destruction.

The boy is placed in the center, captured through a low angle mid shot representing the empowerment
of the oppressed people around him fighting back for their freedom, as the lower angle shot contrasts
with the boy on his knees, which is typically a position to strike back. This creates a sense of balance
within the photograph evoking calmness before the storm, as the protests and outbursts provoke
further oppression and violence from the IDF perpetuating the cycle of violence.
Lastly the significance of a child who represents the Palestinian effort to fight for independence and
freedom indicates the extent in which the trauma of oppression has permeated society, maturing
children into adults and killing off their youthful innocence
These devices can also be appreciated in the larger body of work in the title of the collection of images
“Palestinian Rights of return protests”, as many Palestinians were initially forced to flee their homes
due to Massacres, oppression, and rape by Israeli militia. Till this day Israel violates Palestinian’s basic
human rights by refusing their right to return home, thereby creating a permanent diaspora of internal
and external displacement, fueling more instability, mistrust, and violence from both sides.

Furthermore, throughout the body of work Mustafa Hassona utilizes a medium to fast shutter speed
highlighting the continual cycle of violence in the Palestinian occupation as exemplified in the first and
second picture of the frozen shot of the two women embracing each other in pain with a ray of light
cast down at them directly creating a sense for freedom.
The focus of the camera on the wailing woman on the right being comforted, symbolizes Palestine’s
struggle to be heard, thereby showing the desperate need for emotional catharsis and closure from
the everlasting occupation. The particular focus on capturing this high angle shot gives a more
powerless connotation to the women coupled with the Anguished facial expressions, highlighting the
sheer extent of oppression and violence the Palestinians are subjected to and showing the release of
emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience of the violent crackdowns by the IDF
during the protests.
Furthermore, Hassona focuses on implementing symbolism to his photographs, as the slingshot in the
fifth photo mirrors the chosen picture with its biblical allusion to the story of David and Goliath, with
David symbolized by Palestinian protester trying to overcome impossible odds to secure freedom and
psychological catharsis. It also alludes to the painting of the French revolution titled Liberty leading the
people, whereby both mimic stories of oppressed civilians rising up against tyrannical regimes.
In conclusion Ariel Dorfman’s play Death and the Maiden’s utilization of characterization of visual and
auditory symbols and stage directions, as well as Mustafa Hassona’s collection of photographs delve
into several techniques like balance, symmetry, and color to tackle the global issue. They both
chronologically progress through the cycle of violence imposed by oppressive regimes whether it be
the dictatorial military Junta in Chile or the Apartheid colonial regime of Israel depicting the extent in
which the civilians were repeatedly brutalized and treated as inferior leading to long lasting traumatic
effects.

Feedback:
MARIAN 34/40
A 9 excellent u know
B 9 Excellent inclusion and evaluation of features…
C 8 Mostly focused on GI, good transitions, well organized, mostly perfect balance. 033. 220. 225. 2.
210. 45-
D 8 really good diction and not read well done. A biiit fast…

Reflection:
Yesssss!! I was so very nervous of the outcome of this oral, and was so nervous on how it would be
perceived by my teacher, however, the first summative for the oral which was half an oral surrounding
the analysis of the Zaire school of paintings, where it helped me learn my weaknesses such as speaking
too quickly and not being balanced enough, and significantly affected my first grade. Now that it has
increased to an overall of 34/40, where I got a 9/10 in Criterion A, a 9/10 in Criterion B, an 8/10 in
Criterion C and lastly an 8/10 in Criterion D. This was due to my improvement in the area of balance,
where my time was mostly balanced at 33 seconds for the introduction, 2 minutes 20 seconds for the
extract of the literacy text from DATM, 2 minutes 25 seconds for the wider work, 2 minutes for the
extract of the BOW from Mustafa Hassona’s photograph, 2 minutes 10 seconds for the wider work,
and lastly 45 seconds for the conclusion. This balanced approach to the whole script which I memorized
in order to say seamlessly and as balanced as possible, enabled me to cut down on the speed in which
I had to articulate myself to fit all of the analysis pertaining to the global issue. However, I do need to
keep in mind that I must still improve my conciseness, in order to avoid speaking as fast as I did (though
an improvement was still slightly fast). I need to keep this in mind for next time because the following
oral (practice) will be in person and would mean that I would lack the ability to speak as fast as I did in
the screen recorded version (because of nervousness or the teacher motioning for me to slow down).
Text 3: Duffy
Feminism Introduction:
Feminism is defined as a political, economic and cultural movement that’s initial goal was to establish
equality in the rights and legal protections for women and men. Where over the years, the concerns of
feminist activists have changed and developed over the years ranging from women’s legal rights,
especially in regard to contracts, property, and voting; body integrity and autonomy; abortion and
reproductive rights, including contraception and prenatal care; protection from domestic violence,
sexual harassment, and rape; workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and protection
froll all forms of harassment and discrimination

Feminist history can be divided into three waves:

1. The first wave, occurring in the 19th and early 20th century, was mainly concerned with
women’s right to vote.
2. The second wave, at its height in the 1960s and 1970s, refers to the women’s liberation
movement for equal legal and social rights.
3. The third wave sees women’s lives as intersectional, demonstrating how race, ethnicity, class,
religion, gender, and nationality are all significant factors when discussing feminism. It
examines issues related to women’s lives on an international basis.

Who is Carol Ann Duffy?

The writer of the current text we are going to take is Carol Ann Duffy, who
is a British poet and playwright born on the 23rd of December in 1955. She
is a professor who teaches contemporary poetry in the Manchester
Metropolitan University, and in 2009 was appointed to be the Poet
Laureate. Regarding her vast multitude of collections, they include
Standing Female Nude written in 1985 and the winner of a Scottish Arts
Council Award, Mean Time written in 1993, Rapture written in 2005
(winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize), and two of the works in which we are going
to cover in class are The World’s Wife written in 1999, and Selling
Manhattan written in 1987. The majority of her poems address issues and
themes of gender (and women empowerment), oppression, violence and
a critique of the consumerist and libertarian (right wing) policies of
extreme free market economics and capitalism instilled by Reagan and
Thatcher in the 1980s.

What is Intertextuality?
It is defined as the interrelationship between different texts whether they be works of literature that
are similar, or related based off of their influence, or are different/reflected differently from one
another.

This is essential to the current unit as it mostly focuses on making connections between the
intertextuality present in poetry, and in Duffy’s poetry to be precise – whereby we will be covering two
of Duffy’s main collection like The World’s Wife and Selling Manhattan.

Introduction to The World’s Wife:

The poems written by Duffy within The World’s Wife, are centered upon famous female characters
(whether real or fictional) and their made-up counterparts to famous male figures. The poems focus
on the themes of the complexities pertaining to gender relations, the importance of women’s roles
within society, and the subversion of the ill treatment of women in fictional, biblical, mythical, and
historical contexts. Many of her poems usually apply a modern setting within her poems in order to
create a sense of connection between the reader and the character’s plights and connects the different
setting with the overall treatment of women in the particular poem, highlighting the still ongoing fight
for gender equality that’s still around within the modern era. Some of the poems of The World’s Wife
include the following:
• Little Red Cap
• Mrs. Midas
• Mrs. Quasimodo
• Medusa
• Circe
• Mrs. Lazarus
• Salome
• Mrs. Beast

Dramatic monologue:
When looking at the poems of The World’s Wife, they are all written in dramatic monologue style,
which means in order to better understand the overall poems written by Duffy, it is pertinent to
understand the technique clearly.

Definition: A kind of poem in which a single fictional or historical character other than the poet speaks
to a silent ‘audience’ of one or more persons. Such poems reveal not the poet’s own thoughts but the
mind of the impersonated character, whose personality is revealed unwittingly; this distinguishes a
dramatic monologue from a lyric, while the implied presence of an auditor distinguishes it from a
soliloquy.

Features of a Dramatic monologue:

• Addressee – a listener Is the listener ever mentioned? Is there any sense of who it might be
and whether it is just one individual, or more than one?
• Sense of place Does the monologue clearly take place in a particular environment or is this left
open?
• Openings Does the monologue have a formal opening, or does it seem as if you’re breaking
into a conversation that’s already part way through?
• What kind of voice is it?
o Use of Idioms
o Idiolect
o Colloquial phrases
o Slang and Swearing
o the same voice throughout or different at different stages in the poem
o Repeated phrases
o tone of voice 4
• The narrator and the poet behind the narrator Does the narrator reveal him or herself
unintentionally? Is the reader expected to take away a different view of the narrator to the
one he/she thinks he/she is putting across? Is there a degree of irony in this?
• What’s the point? Are we simply being given a view of a ‘character’ or is there more to it than
this? Is the poet raising themes, or ideas about the way people live, through the character?

Note to self – new term for analysis: Subversion – which is used in Duffy’s poems of The World’s Wife
to empower the female characters.
Poetry terms:
Since we started annotating and discussing poems in class, I decided to have a poetry term list in
order to better follow along in class, and not get lost as the teacher is explaining.
• Alliteration
• Assonance
• Ballad: a songlike poem that tells a story – deals with adventure or romance
• Blank Verse: unrhymed form of poetry
• Caesura: a pause or break within a line of poetry (used a lot by Duffy)
• Consonance
• Elegy: a mournful poem
• Enjambment: when a particular line doesn’t have a pause at the end and continues into the
following line (used a lot by Duffy)
• Free verse: does not have a regular rhyme or rhythm
• Sibilance: repetition of the sound of “s” (used a lot by Duffy)

Poem Ms. Midas:

It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begun

to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitchen
filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath
gently blanching the windows. So I opened one,
then with my fingers wiped the other’s glass like a brow.
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.

Now the garden was long and the visibility poor, the way
the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky,
but that twig in his hand was gold. And then he plucked
a pear from a branch. – we grew Fondante d’Automne –
and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. On.
I thought to myself, Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?

He came into the house. The doorknobs gleamed.

He drew the blinds. You know the mind; I thought of
the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready.
He sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne.
The look on his face was strange, wild, vain. I said,
What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh.

I served up the meal. For starters, corn on the cob.

Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich.
He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives,
the forks.
He asked where was the wine. I poured with a shaking hand,
a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy, then watched
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.

It was then that I started to scream. He sank to his knees.

After we’d both calmed down, I finished the wine
on my own, hearing him out. I made him sit
on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself.
I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone.
The toilet I didn’t mind. I couldn’t believe my ears:

how he’d had a wish. Look, we all have wishes; granted.

But who has wishes granted? Him. Do you know about gold?
It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slakes
no thirst. He tried to light a cigarette; I gazed, entranced,
as the blue flame played on its luteous stem. At least,
I said, you’ll be able to give up smoking for good.

Separate beds. in fact, I put a chair against my door,

near petrified. He was below, turning the spare room
into the tomb of Tutankhamun. You see, we were passionate then,
in those halcyon days; unwrapping each other, rapidly,
like presents, fast food. But now I feared his honeyed embrace,
the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.

And who, when it comes to the crunch, can live

with a heart of gold? That night, I dreamt I bore
his child, its perfect ore limbs, its little tongue
like a precious latch, its amber eyes
holding their pupils like flies. My dream milk
burned in my breasts. I woke to the streaming sun.

So he had to move out. We’d a caravan

in the wilds, in a glade of its own. I drove him up
under the cover of dark. He sat in the back.
And then I came home, the woman who married the fool
who wished for gold. At first, I visited, odd times,
parking the car a good way off, then walking.

You knew you were getting close. Golden trout

on the grass. One day, a hare hung from a larch,
a beautiful lemon mistake. And then his footprints,
glistening next to the river’s path. He was thin,
delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pan
from the woods. Listen. That was the last straw.

What gets me now is not the idiocy or greed

but lack of thought for me. Pure selfishness. I sold
the contents of the house and came down here.
I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon,
and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. I miss most,
even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.

Context:
The Greek myth of King Midas is centered around the tragedy of greed and avarice, whilst narrating
the occurrence of the lack of recognition of true happiness. King Midas, an already wealthy man,
wished to the god Dionysius to be able to turn anything he touched into gold. However his lack of
foresight, meant that the facade of a blessing was really a curse, everything he cares about turns to
gold including his beloved daughter, which lead to his realisation that greed creates slaves of desire.
 • Dramatic monologue
• Informal colloquial language
Poem Salome:
• In medias res
• Allusion to Lady Lazarus
I’d done it before (and doubtless I’ll do it again, sooner • Cynical tone
or later) • Synecdoche.
woke up with a head on the pillow beside me • Foreshadowing
– whose? – • Rhetorical Question
• Irony
what did it matter?
• Consonant rhyme

Salome, in a dramatic monologue, tells her story using modern, informal colloquial language. She begins as if in the middle
of the story, a device known as in medias res, Latin for ‘in the middle of things’, which serves to draw the reader in. She is
confessing to repeated appalling behaviour which she only half-heartedly resolves to amend. There’s also a nod or an homage
to the opening line of Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus, “I’d done it again/One year in every ten/I manage it”. Typically, Duffy
subverts the allusion, in that Plath’s persona is ‘rising from the dead’ like Lazarus, whereas Duffy’s persona is sending another
victim to their death. She is used to waking up next to different men, is clearly promiscuous, uninterested even in their names.
The tone is cyncial and devoid of emotion. The reference to ‘head’ foreshadows the future in relation to John the Baptist’s
beheading. → allusion and subversion of the oscar wilde play that we explained afformentionedly

Good-looking, of course, dark hair, rather matted;

the reddish beard several shades lighter; • Allusion
with very deep lines around the eyes, • Dark humor
from pain, I’d guess, maybe laughter; • Irony
and a beautiful crimson mouth that obviously knew • Consonance
how to flatter… • Punctuation: semi colons & ellipses
• Metaphor comparing metal alloy
which I kissed… • Intertextuality and biblical allusion
Colder than pewter.
Strange. What was his name? Peter?
Paintings of John the Baptist traditionally depict a handsome, dishevelled man. It is common for dark-haired men to have
red beards. However, in this context the red could be blood rather than natural colour. → this is physical characterization of
the man It is significant that her description of him is factual and cold-blooded. She seems to believe that he is just another
man she has used for sex. This section is dark humour. Salome says that his lined face could denote pain, one assumes at the
moment he was killed, but she jokingly states it could be laughter as well. She shows no remorse or respect for the man she
has caused to be murdered. It is ironic that Salome interprets his red mouth as an indication of his ability to flatter, when
traditionally his manner was direct and blunt, a ‘wilderness man’, as made clear in Matthew’s gospel. The pattern of
consonant line endings continues in this stanza with the words ‘lighter’, ‘laughter’, ‘flatter’ and ‘pewter’. This creates a
rhythmic, humorous flow. Pewter was a metal used by wealthy people in biblical times. Those who could afford it would
have eaten off pewter plates. Pewter is a metal alloy and therefore cold and lifeless. It also fits Duffy’s consonant rhyme
scheme, with words ending in ‘er’. Here ‘pewter’ is neatly paired with the name ‘Peter’. It is also a representation of her
whelth and the allusion to the fact that her character is a princess.

Simon? Andrew? John? I knew I’d feel better • Intertextuality and biblical allusion
for tea, dry toast, no butter, • Anachronism
so rang for the maid. • Tricolon
• Plosive
And, indeed, her innocent clatter
• Homur
of cups and plates, • contemporary colloquial language
her clearing of clutter, • Juxtaposition
her regional patter,
were just what I needed –
hungover and wrecked as I was from a night on the
batter.
These are the names of Jesus' disciples. The religious connection emerges and the reader begins to think more closely of
the biblical context and the infamous story. Salome alights on John’s name finally, and the satisfaction of getting this right
stimulates her appetite for breakfast. It suggests humorously that John the Baptist provided a good cure for a hangover!
It is ironic that she should replay in her mind the names of Jesus’s followers, poor ordinary men, highly unlikely to have
been in bed with a promiscuous royal woman. It is as if her menacing and calculating nature wouldn’t stop at condemning
them and their reputations. The reference to the biblical story is a technique known as Intertextuality, where a writer
makes connections between literary works to enhance meaning, and not to plagiarise. Here, the familiar biblical story
gives additional meaning to Duffy’s poem. The specification of the character john is allusion to john the baptist as well as
john - one of the writers of the bible. Duffy continues the rhyming scheme, with ‘clatter’, ‘clutter’ and ‘patter’, words with
percussive consonants that imitate the sound. She uses plosive ‘p’s in 'plates’ and ‘patter’ to reinforce this. The crashing
sounds of plates, created by the plosive consonants, also mimic her hungover, drunken state in which one would be
sensitive to loud and harsh sounds.

Never again!
I needed to clean up my act, • Enjambed structure
get fitter, • Caesura
cut out the booze and the fags and the sex. • Polysyndeton
• Plosive
Yes. And as for the latter,
• Juxtaposition
it was time to turf out the blighter, • Simile
the beater or biter, • Biblical allusion
who’d come like a lamb to the slaughter
to Salome’s bed.

Sex and impurity are the themes of this stanza, where the woman is represented as literally and figuratively dirty: ‘I needed
to clean up my act’, and the line: ‘cut out the booze and the fags and the sex’ indicate her life is meaningless through the
use of polysydeton. These slang words appear flippant and imply that she derives no pleasure from her self-indulgence.
The structure of this section is enjambed each fragment blending with what follows, set out like a routine. The sentence
stops abruptly with the one word ‘Yes’, forming a caesura. She could be pausing as she considers a possible new lifestyle.

In the mirror, I saw my eyes glitter.

• Informal structure
I flung back the sticky red sheets, • Irony + allusion to blood
• Dramatic climax,
and there, like I said – and ain’t life a bitch –

was his head on a platter.

The format of the fourth and final stanza is structured as the first, creating circularity in the story. Within the seemingly
careless and informal structure, representing the woman’s causal approach to what she did, there is clearly a careful plan
in the middle three nine-line stanzas. The poem ends with the indication of insanity as suggested in the sentence ‘I saw my
eyes glitter’. The last two lines are the dramatic climax, though of course the reader will know the story. Salome cannot
change, she is as she was in the beginning. She breaks off whilst in the middle of concluding her story, presenting the final
scene with menacing satisfaction. It has been suggested that this indicates, humorously, her annoyance that the mess has
to be cleaned up. There is no sense of empathy or remorse. The cyclical structure of the poem indicates that she can never
change.

Context:
In Biblical literature she is remembered as the immediate agent in the execution of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas had
imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning his marriage to Herodias, the divorced wife of his half-brother Herod Philip
but Herod was afraid to have the popular prophet killed. After Salome danced before Herod and his guests at a festival, he
promised to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, the girl demanded the head of John the Baptist on a
platter, and the unwilling Herod was forced by his oath to have John beheaded. Salome took the platter with John’s head
and gave it to her mother.

In Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé in which Herod is portrayed as lusting after Salome, while Salome, in her turn, desires John
the Baptist.

Thematic concepts: power, female sexualization, callousness

Poem Circe:
I'm fond, nereids and nymphs, unlike some, of the pig,
of the tusker, the snout, the boar and the swine. Context:
One way or another, all pigs have been mine -
under my thumb, the bristling, salty skin of their backs, The character of Circe is a nymph is
in my nostrils here, their yobby, porky colognes. the banished daughter of the sun
I'm familiar with the hogs and runts, their percussion of oinks god Helios, who was exiled to the
island of Aiaia for inappropriate use
and grunts, their squeals. I've stood with a pail of swill
of magic in order to turn a rival into
at dusk, at the creaky gate of the sty, the monster Scylla, where in her
tasting the sweaty, spicy air, the moon solitude she hones her ability to use
like a lemon popped in the mouth of the sky. magic.
But I want to begin with a recipe from abroad
Therefore during the plot of the
which uses the cheek - and the tongue in cheek odyssey, she uses her magic in order
at that. Lay two pig's cheeks, with the tongue, to convert Odysseus’s men into
pigs. However he is able to resist her
in a dish, and strew it well over with salt
magic through the help of the god
and cloves. Remember the skills of the tongue -
Hermes, until they begin an affair
to lick, to lap, to loosen, lubricate, to lie until he abandons her.
in the soft pouch of the face - and how each pig's face
the cowardly face, the brave, the comical, noble
sly or wise, the cruel, the kind, but all of them,
nymphs, with those piggy eyes. Season with mace.

Well-cleaned pig's ears should be blanched, singed, tossed

in a pot, boiled, kept hot, scraped, served, garnished
with thyme. Look at that simmering lug, at that ear,
did it listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes,
to the chimes of your voice, singing and clear? Mash
the potatoes, nymph, open the beer. Now to the brains,
to the trotters, shoulders, chops, to the sweetneats slipped
from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls.
When the heart of a pig has hardened, dice it small.

Dice it small. I, too, once knelt on this shining shore

watching the tall ships sail from the burning sun
like myths; slipped off my dress to wade,
breast-deep, in the sea, waving and calling;
then plunged, then swam on my back, looking up
as three black ships sighed in the shallow waves.
Of course, I was younger then. And hoping for men. Now,
let us baste that sizzling pig on the spit once again.
Poem Medusa
A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy
grew in my mind,
which turned the hairs on my head to filthy snakes
as though my thoughts
hissed and spat on my scalp.

My bride’s breath soured, stank

in the grey bags of my lungs.
I’m foul mouthed now, foul tongued,
yellow fanged.
There are bullet tears in my eyes.
Are you terrified?

Be terrified.
It’s you I love,
perfect man, Greek God, my own;
but I know you’ll go, betray me, stray
from home.
So better be for me if you were stone.

I glanced at a buzzing bee,

a dull grey pebble fell
to the ground.
I glanced at a singing bird,
a handful of dusty gravel
spattered down.

I looked at a ginger cat,

a housebrick
shattered a bowl of milk.
I looked at a snuffling pig,
a boulder rolled
in a heap of shit.

I stared in the mirror.

Love gone bad
showed me a Gorgon.
I stared at a dragon.
Fire spewed
from the mouth of a mountain.

And here you come

with a shield for a heart
and a sword for a tongue
and your girls, your girls.
Wasn’t I beautiful
Wasn’t I fragrant and young?

Look at me now.

Context:
The myth of Medusa is centered around two primary stories which are as follows:
• The first one - and most famous one, is that she had an affair with the sea god Poseidon within
the temple of Athena, causing her to punish Medusa by turning her hair into writhing snakes,
her skin into a greenish hue, and forcing anyone who locks eyes with her to be turned into
stone. She is later killed by Perseus, a demigod who was sent on a quest to kill her. He defeated
her by using a reflection in his polished shield to track her and then cut her head off.
• The second and less known story was that Medusa was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple,
and since she was unable to punish another god directly, she made it so that anyone who locks
eyes with medusa would be petrified (turned to stone), in order to protect her from the incident
happening again.

Poem Ms. Beast: (annotated in comments)

These myths going round, these legends, fairytales,

I’ll put them straight; so when you stare
Into my face – Helen’s face, Cleopatra’s,
Queen of Sheba’s, Juliet’s – then, deeper,
Gaze into my eyes – Nefertiti’s, Mona Lisa’s,
Garbo’s eyes - think again. The Little Mermaid slit
Her shining, silver tail in two, rubbed salt
Into that stinking wound, got up and walked,
In agony, in fishnet tights, stood up and smiled, waltzed,
All for a Prince, a pretty boy, a charming one
Who’d dump her in the end, chuck her, throw her overboard.
I could have told her – look, love, I should know,
They’re bastards when they’re Princes.
What you want to do is find yourself a beast. The sex
Is better. Myself, I came to the House of the Beast
No longer a girl, knowing my own mind,
My own gold stashed in the bank,
My own black horse at the gates
Ready to carry me off at one wrong word,
One false move, one dirty look.
But the Beast fell to his knee’s at the door
To kiss my glove with his mongrel lips – good –
Showed by the tears in his bloodshot eyes
That he knew he was blessed – better –
Didn’t try to conceal his erection,
Size of a mules – best. And the Beast
Watched me open, decant and quaff
A bottle of Château Margaux ’54,
The year of my birth, before he lifted a paw.
I’ll tell you more. Stripped of his muslin shirt
And his corduroys, he steamed in his pelt,
Ugly as sin. He had the grunts, the groans, the yelps,
The breath of a goat. I had the language, girls.
The lady says Do this. Harder. The lady says
Do that. Faster. The lady says That’s not where I meant.
At last it all made sense. The pig in my bed
Was invited. And if his snout and trotters fouled
My damask sheets, why, then, he’d wash them. Twice.
Meantime, here was his horrid leather tongue
To scour between my toes. Here
Were his hooked and yellowy claws to pick my nose,
If I wanted that. Or to scratch my back
Till it bled. Here was his bullock’s head
To sing off-key all night where I couldn’t hear.
Here was a bit of him like a horse, a ram,
An ape, a wolf, a dog, a donkey, dragon, dinosaur.

Need I say more? On my poker nights, the Beast

Kept out of sight. We were a hard school, tough as fuck,
All of us beautiful and rich – the Woman
Who Married a Minotaur, Goldilocks, the Bride
Of the Bearded Lesbian, Frau Yellow Dwarf, et Moi.
I watched those wonderful women shuffle and deal –
Five and Seven Card Stud, Sidewinder, Hold ‘Em, Draw –

I watched them bet and raise and call. One night,

A head-to-head between Frau Yellow Dwarf and Bearded’s Bride
Was over the biggest pot I’d seen in my puff.
The Frau had the Queen of Clubs on the baize
And Bearded the Queen of Spades. Final card. Queen each.
Frau Yellow raised. Bearded raised. Goldilocks’ eyes
Were glued to the pot as though porridge bubbled there.
The Minotaur’s wife lit a stinking cheroot. Me,
I noticed the Frau’s hand shook as she placed her chips.
Bearded raised her final time, then stared,
Stared so hard you felt your dress would melt
If she blinked. I held my breath. Frau Yellow
Swallowed hard, then called. Sure enough, Bearded flipped
Her Aces over; diamonds, hearts, the pubic Ace of Spades.
And that was a lesson learnt by all of us –
The drop-dead gorgeous Bride of the Bearded Lesbian didn’t bluff.

But behind each player stood a line of ghosts

Unable to win. Eve, Ashputtel. Marilyn Monroe.
Rapunzel slashing wildly at her hair.
Bessie Smith unloved and down and out.
Bluebeard’s wives, Henry VIII’s, Snow White
Cursing the day she left the seven dwarfs, Diana,
Princess of Wales. The sheepish Beast came in
With a tray of schnapps at the end of the game
And we stood for the toast – Fay Wray –
Then tossed our fiery drinks to the back of our crimson throats.
Bad girls. Serious ladies. Mourning our dead.

So I was hard on the Beast, win or lose,

When I got upstairs, those tragic girls in my head,
Turfing him out of bed; standing alone
On the balcony, the night so cold I could taste the stars
On the tip of my tongue. And I made a prayer –
Thumbing my pearls, the tears of Mary, one by one,
Like a rosary – words for the lost, the captive beautiful,
The wives, those less fortunate than we.
The moon was a hand-mirror breathed on by a Queen.
My breath was a chiffon scarf for an elegant ghost.
I turned to go back inside. Bring me the Beast for the night.
Bring me the wine-cellar key. Let the less-loving one be me.

Poem Little Red Cap: (annotated in comments)

At childhood’s end, the houses petered out

Into playing fields, the factory, allotments
Kept, like mistresses, by kneeling married men
The silent railway line, the hermit’s caravan
Till you came at last to the edge of the woods
It was there that I first clapped eyes on the wolf

He stood in a clearing, reading his verse out loud

In his wolfy drawl, a paperback in his hairy paw
Red wine staining his bearded jaw. What big ears
He had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!
In the interval, I made quite sure he spotted me
Sweet sixteen, never been, babe, waif, and bought me a drink

My first. You might ask why. Here’s why. Poetry

The wolf, I knew, would lead me deep into the woods
Away from home to a dark tangled thorny place
Lit by the eyes of owls. I crawled in his wake
My stockings ripped to shreds, scraps of red from my blazer
Snagged on twig and branch, murder clues. I lost both shoes

But got there, wolf’s lair, better beware. Lesson one that night
Breath of the wolf in my ear, was the love poem
I clung till dawn to his thrashing fur, for
What little girl doesn’t dearly love a wolf?
Then I slid from between his heavy matted paws
And went in search of a living bird – white dove –
Which flew, straight, from my hands to his open mouth
One bite, dead. How nice, breakfast in bed, he said
Licking his chops. As soon as he slept, I crept to the back
Of the lair, where a whole wall was crimson, gold, aglow with books
Words, words were truly alive on the tongue, in the head
Warm, beating, frantic, winged; music and blood

But then I was young – and it took ten years

In the woods to tell that a mushroom
Stoppers the mouth of a buried corpse, that birds
Are the uttered thought of trees, that a greying wolf
Howls the same old song at the moon, year in, year out
Season after season, same rhyme, same reason. I took an axe

To a willow to see how it wept. I took an axe to a salmon

To see how it leapt. I took an axe to the wolf
As he slept, one chop, scrotum to throat, and saw
The glistening, virgin white of my grandmother’s bones
I filled his old belly with stones. I stitched him up
Out of the forest I come with my flowers, singing, all alone
Bodies of work
In order to prepare for the upcoming oral, which will be carried out as a practice using Duffy’s poems,
it is necessary to have corresponding BOWs that can link to form a global issue with Duffy’s poems
that focus on women empowerment and the subversion of the mistreatment of women. Accordingly,
the BOW chose was Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine. But to understand the significance of who she is,
and her Magazine, we need to learn more about her.

Gloria Steinem & Ms. Magazine

Who is Gloria Steinem?
G Gloria Steinem is an American feminist, political activist, and editor born in 1934, and was an
articulate advocate of the women’s liberation movement during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
She was especially vocal during 1968, where she participated in a meeting of a radical feminist group,
the Redstockings. In 1971 with Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, and Shirley Chisholm she ended up founding
the National Women’s Political Caucus.
During the same year of 1971, she also
began a new magazine for women that
focused on modern issues from a feminist
lens and perspective.

What is Ms. Magazine:

Is a still running American liberal magazine
that focuses on a feminist lens and founded
by Gloria Steinem in 1971. It was the first
feminist magazine formed.

Sample of the BOW: This BOW similar to Duffy subverts the typical male narrative
applied to women who menstruate, and in turn gives the trait
to men in order to analyze the effect of the role reversal on
societal standards today
Class Choice of BOW
In class we were tasked with researching our own examples of BOW that could possibly work with the Poetry
by Duffy. Accordingly, since in the previous oral, I found analyzing photographs to be a more preferable
experience than something akin to advertisements or paintings, I decided to research for specific photographs.
Whilst researching I came across a series of photographs by an American photographer known as Francesca
Woodman. Her photos focus more on the themes such as relationships, sexuality, gender inequality, questions
of self, body image, alienation, isolation. A technique I discovered she was known for, was deliberately
capturing photos that might have been blurry in order to subvert the male gaze. These photos were captured
during the 1970s at the height of the second wave of feminism movement. Whilst exploring her photos, I
noticed that not only do they work for Duffy, but also for the character of Paulina within DATM.

Below are a sample of some of her photographs:

Mock Oral
In order to practice for the upcoming actual internal (oral), it was necessary to do a practice oral in
person in order to properly transition and discover the mistakes necessary to be fixed to overcome
them by the time the mock and actual orals are carried out. After carrying out the practice oral, there
was not much to alter in regard to the quality of the script, accordingly my primary challenge was fixing
the script to suit the 10-minute time (as in the practice my nerves caused me to speed through it in a
bit over eight minutes)

English A: language and literature

Literary Text: A collection of poems from “The World’s Wife” by Carol Anne Duffy, 1999

Non Literary text: Collection of articles from Ms. Magazine

Global Issue: How the subversion of existing gender stereotypes creates new narratives that ultimately
promote the sexual empowerment of women in hegemonic patriarchal societies

Extract 1

Stimulus description:

Poem “Salome” by Carol Ann Duffy from The World’s Wife 1999

Extract 2

Stimulus description:

An essay from a collection of essays published in Ms. Magazine titled “I want a wife” by Judy Brady.
Extract 1: Salome, Carol Ann Duffy

1 Salome
I’d done it before (and doubtless I’ll do it again, sooner or later) woke up with a head on
the pillow beside me
– whose? –
What did it matter?
5 Good-looking, of course, dark hair, rather matted;
the reddish beard several shades lighter;
with very deep lines around the eyes,
from pain, I’d guess, maybe laughter;
and a beautiful crimson mouth that obviously knew
10 how to flatter…
which I kissed…
Colder than pewter.
Strange. What was his name? Peter?

Simon? Andrew? John? I knew I’d feel better

for tea, dry toast, no butter,
15 so rang for the maid.
And, indeed, her innocent clatter
of cups and plates,
her clearing of clutter,
her regional patter,
20 were just what I needed –
hungover and wrecked as I was from a night on the batter.

Never again!
I needed to clean up my act,
get fitter,
cut out the booze and the fags and the sex.
25 Yes. And as for the latter,
it was time to turf out the blighter,
the beater or biter,
who’d come like a lamb to the slaughter
to Salome’s bed.
30 In the mirror, I saw my eyes glitter.
I flung back the sticky red sheets,
and there, like I said – and ain’t life a bitch –
was his head on a platter.

35
Non Literary extract: Extract from Ms. Magazine article “I want a wife” by Judy Brady.
1 I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties. But
I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to ex- plain a rather difficult point
I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for
me when I have written them.

I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are
5 invited out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements.
When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have
the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not
interrupt when I talk about things that in- terest me and my friends. I want a wife who will
have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that
10 the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so
that they feel comfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that they are
passed the hors d’oeuvres, that they are offered a second helping of the food, that their
wine glasses are replenished when necessary, that their coffee is served to them as they
like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself.

15 I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love pas- sionately
and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I
want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want
a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want
more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have
to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that
20 my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all,
be able to relate to people as fully as possible.

If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I al- ready have,
I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Natu- rally, I will expect a
fresh new life; my wife will take the children and be solely re- sponsible for them so that
25 I am left free.

When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain
at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife’s duties.
My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?

30

Global issue: How the subversion of existing gender stereotypes creates new narratives that ultimately
promote the sexual empowerment of women in hegemonic patriarchal societies

Plan:
• Introduction:
• Intro to topic - gender stereotypes and feminism
• Global issue
• Salome + World’s wife
• BOW Ms. Magazine
• Extract Salome (30 mins)
• Dramatic Monologue (1st device)
• Intertextuality + Allusions (2nd device)
• Irony and rhetorical language/tone (4th device)
• Colloquial language
• Climax (6th device)
• Semantic field of diction (3rd device)
• Cyclical structure of the poem (5th device)

• Wider Work
• Start with Ms. Beast → little red cap → circe
• Title of the poems - like Ms. Beast
• Intertextuality + subversion
• Imagery
• Listing
• Semantic field
• Anthropomorphism
• Symbolism
• Repetition
• Juxtaposition

• BOW extract - I want a wife

• Repetition (anaphora)
• Subversion
• Irony + tone
• Rhetorical question
• Listing (asyndeton)
• Semantic field of diction
• Hyperbole
• Symbolism

• Wider work (rest of I want a wife, if men could menstruate, if Freud were Phyllis)
• Subversion
• Irony + tone
• Rhetorical question
• Symbolism + allusion
• Satire

• Conclusion
• Summarize points for literary text
• Summarize points for BOW
• Restate thesis
• Food for thought
Oral:

The cyclical rise and fall of gender stereotypes is deeply entrenched within the current narratives
promoted within hegemonic patriarchal societies. The global issue is “How the subversion of existing
gender stereotypes creates new narratives that ultimately promote the sexual empowerment of
women in hegemonic patriarchal societies?” emphasized through the collection of poems from “The
World’s Wife” written by Carol Anne Duffy and a Collection of articles from Ms. Magazine, about the
aftermath of the feminist movements that occurred throughout the 20th century.

To begin with, the poem Salome utilizes the structure of free verse within a dramatic monologue, giving
a strong and autonomous voice to the traditionally silenced female Other who lacked power and
opinion, and presents her as an independent subject, and a symbol of subversive femininity. It presents
the point of view of a character who has always been written from a male perspective that makes many
stereotypical assumptions about her character rather than her own story. Accordingly, Duffy's use of
personal pronouns followed by action verbs for example "I'll do it again", "I needed" and "I flung"),
highlights the character's dominant presence, and empowers her.

In line 2-4, she is clearly described as promiscuous, and uninterested in her male partners’ identities as
indicated through the rhetorical question of “whose”. The tone is cynical and devoid of emotion. This
implies that the presentation of Salome’s sexual life is a normal, way of life. Continuing on with the
same flippant and emotionless tone, Salome’s description of the man is factual and cold-blooded,
which adds to the lack of interest in the man himself, considering him a tool for sex. Throughout the
second and third stanzas she exerts a masculine behavior for the lack of emotion after having sex. This
allows Duffy to subvert the stereotypical male attributes by giving them to a woman, thus empowering
a behavior that is perceived as deplorable in women but acceptable in men due to the double standards
placed within a patriarchal society.

At the end of the poem Salome displays her enjoyment of her sexual habits and murder, and her lack
of remorse through the line “lamb to the slaughter” which has a biblical connotation, alluding to Christ
who was the lamb of God, atoning for the sins of humanity, where in this case the dead man is made
to atone for her sins or for the sins of men against women. The irony of the word “bitch” in the last
stanza is because the term is sexually abusive to women, therefore Salome’s statement reclaims the
word from men as a demonstration of her own strength. The two final lines depict a dramatic climax,
giving her male characteristics throughout the poem like a lack of empathy and remorse.

These devices can also be appreciated in the larger body of work, in the title of the collection of poems
“The World’s Wife” referencing society as a man’s world, depicting the inherent patriarchal nature
when the man is representative of the world and the woman of his wife, thereby referencing the point
of view of many women who were left nameless and neglected by history, only to be identified by their
association with their husbands name such as in the title Mrs. Beast who is identified as per her relation
to the beast.

Furthermore, throughout Duffy’s poems, she employs the use of lists in order to emphasize the sexual
empowerment of the characters within the poems. For example, in Little red cap, duffy uses the list
“Warm, beating, frantic, winged; music and blood” which creates a sexual and erotic semantic field of
diction. The fast pace of the listing reflects the excitement of Red Cap, and her confidence as she rejects
the stereotypical expectations for a woman. Another example would be in the poem Circe where duffy
lists “under my thumb, the bristling, salty skin of their backs, in my nostrils here, their yobby, porky
colognes.” This style of list gives the implication of a recipe, where the satire becomes a little more
biting, and the vocabulary implies criticism. There is a suggestion of the sexual act in ‘skin of their backs’
as well as female dominance in ‘under my thumb’ further sexually empowering women. The reference
to a vast assortment of pigs is an allusion to the range and variety of men she encountered, whereby
due to the negative connotation of pigs being dirty and used to describe sex workers, further
empowering women in a role reversal. Whilst in Mrs. Beast, the list of “Helen’s face, Cleopatra’s,Queen
of Sheba’s, Juliet’s” depicts women who were known for their beauty thereby connects their sexual
appeal with power. Moreover, these women were used to describe objects of male desire, and as such
as patriarchal constructs.

Duffy also subverts the fairytale as Mrs. Beast shows that she is her own woman, and therefore does
not need a “knight on a white horse” to come and rescue her. The audience in this case is presented
with a woman who has independence, financially, sexually and emotionally.

As for the body of Work, I will now begin with analyzing an excerpt from the article “I want a wife”
published in Ms. Magazine in 1971 during the height of the second wave of feminism movement. To
begin with, Brady titles the essay “I want a wife” in order to write from a male perspective, the
expectations of what he thinks a wife is and the stereotypical things she should be in accordance with
the patriarchy.

Whereby, the use of anaphora for the phrase “I want a wife” in order to describe the unrealistic
expectations he has of her regarding her duties within the house, sexually and emotionally,
representing her as an object, where it portrays men as weak due to their sheer dependency on
another person subverting the stereotypical thought that men are supposed to be the strong
independent half of a relationship. This reversal of roles empowers women because of the roles that
they serve as a wife, mother, house manager, and a caretaker.

Specifically employing the repetition of the word “I” describes men as egocentric in which they are
worried about themselves rather than their wife. The author sets a sarcastic tone in which she demands
to have a wife, where in reality she is tired of being a wife herself. The incorporation of rhetorical
questions such as, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” helps reinforce the satirical tone which allows
Brady to expose and criticizes the disparities in society’s view towards men and women.

This entire essay employs the use of hyperbole and parody to show how men’s selfish and brutally
unrealistic expectations of women's roles still persist today and emphasizes the point that the roles of
a wife are unfair to the roles of a husband, and that there is an obvious difference, and inequality,
between the roles of husband and wife. The absurdity of the man’s demands is emphasized through
the use of short and imperative sentences giving the essay a semblance of a list of demands. This is
exemplified in “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my
house clean.”

As for the wider work, these devices can also be appreciated in the larger collection of essays from Ms.
Magazine. Ms. Magazine’s series of essays consistently employs a series of lists throughout the body
of work, whereby starting off with “I want a wife”, Brady uses asyndetic lists to describe the hyperbolic
wishes of the narrator “I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when
need be” and is utilized to add emphasis on the discrepancy between the expectations for the husband
and wife, as the wife is expected to simultaneously do multiple things at once.

Furthermore, in the essay “if men could menstruate” it employs its own example of listing in the form
of a tricolon. “Menstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event” exemplifies
Steinem’s scrutiny towards the sexist social constructions dominant in Western attitudes towards
menstruation by imagining a world in which men, not women, are menstruators and portraying the
double standard.

Menippean satire is used in “if men could menstruate” to illustrate the hypothetical scenario regarding
the patriarchal society’s reaction towards subverting known gender stereotypes. by giving them a
biological trait that is often stigmatized in such a society. Where menstruation is representative of the
discrimination and inequality between men and women. The hyperbole of the parallels in our society
and this hypothetical one is repeated throughout, as Steinem depicts an accurate portrayal of gender
distinction based on society's promotion of male superiority and female inferiority. Reflecting the
second feminist movement in which women strove for sexual equality. The characterization of men as
“the powerful'' and references to “congress”, implies that women were not afforded the same political
resources or advocacy as men imposed by the patriarchal society.

Furthermore, in “What if Freud were Phyllis?” Steinem satirizes the life and career of Sigmund Freud
and subverts Freudian theories by suggesting what if Freud were a woman instead of a man and
elevating the patriarchy into a matriarchy. Steinem does this by overturning key ideas in Freudian
psychoanalysis such as penis envy a theory that was a product of the misogynistic period in which it
was conceived and introducing “womb envy” as an innate male psychological trait which was an
attempt to challenge his sexist theory and sexually empower women.

In conclusion Carol Anne Duffy’s collection of poems from “the world’s wife” utilization of symbolism,
dramatic monologue and subverting the characterization of the main character within the poems, as
well as a Collection of articles from Ms. Magazine delving into several techniques like anaphora and a
satirical tone to tackle the global issue. Both of the chosen essays and poems chronologically progress
through the cycle of the second feminist movement depicting the extent in which women fought for
sexual equality and empowerment in a system that fought to prevent it.

Mock oral bullet points

Since we were only allowed 10 bullet points for the mock oral, I had to find a way to organize my bullet
points in a way where I could have them be systematic and fit preemptively prevent me from forgetting
or getting lost within the script. Accordingly, the below bullets consist of what was utilized for my script:

• The cyclical rise and fall→ are deeply… To begin with, the poem Salome → free verse + Dramatic
monologue… Presents POV of a character… Accordingly, Duffy's use → “I'll do it again", "I needed" and "I
flung" → dominant presence… In line 2-4… Tone is cynical…

• This implies that the presentation…Continuing on with the…Throughout the second and third… allows
duffy to subvert… At the end of the poem→ enjoyment… The irony of the word “bitch”... The two final lines

• These devices can also be appreciated→wider work→ in the title… referencing the point of view→
identified by their association… Furthermore throughout duffy’s poems→ use of lists… “Warm, beating,
frantic, winged; music and blood”→creates sexual semantic… Fast pace… Another example “under my
thumb, the bristling, salty skin of their backs, in my nostrils here, their yobby, porky colognes.”

• This style of list… There is a suggestion… further sexually… The reference to a vast assortment… Whilst in
Mrs. Beast “Helen’s face, Cleopatra’s,Queen of Sheba’s, Juliet’s”... objects of male desire… Duffy also
subverts the fairytale → her own woman→ “knight on a white horse”... Audience is presented
• As for the body of Work… To begin with, Brady titles the essay… Whereby, the use of anaphora→ describe
unrealistic expectations→ representing her as an object… portrays men as weak… This reversal
empowers… Specifically employing the repetition… sets a sarcastic tone

• The incorporation “My god who wouldn't want a wife”→ reinforce the satirical tone→expose and criticize
disparities in society’s view… employs the use of hyperbole and parody→ selfish… emphasizes the point→
unfair to roles of husband… The absurdity…

• “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs.” “I want a wife who will keep my house clean”... As
for the wider work, these devices… whereby starting off→ hyperbolic→ “I want a wife who will keep my
clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be”... add emphasis on the discrepancy→ expectations

• Furthermore, in the essay→ tricolon… “menstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine
event” exemplifying Steinem’s… by imagining…Menippean satire→ hypothetical scenario→ regarding the
patriarchal society’s reaction…Where menstruation→ sexual equality
• The hyperbole→ parallels→repeated throughout→based on…Reflecting the second…Furthermore, in
“What if Freud were Phyllis?” → steinem does this by overturning→ as an innate male

• In conclusion→symbolism, dramatic monologue and subverting…anaphora and a satirical tone…Both of

the→ chronological progress→ cycle→ depicting the extent.

Feedback:
A 9 had we had more time for the further qns I am sure it would have been a 10.
B 9 full of ac/sf with excellent evaluation. Again.. had we had more time I could have justified a 10.
C 7why did you not take time into account??? Focus: 8 Balance: Intro 0035, extract 250, ww 255,
extract 240, bow 319.. concludes at 13:00 Structure: too long. 6 Transition: 7
D 8 listen to yourself, calm down and you can rock it.

Reflection:
Due to the repetitive practice in regard to orals from the beginning of the year till now (towards the
end), I was significantly able to boost up and maintain my abilities in both Criterion A and B where I
successfully managed to achieve a 9/10 in both. However as this was my first official summative oral
in person I still have not managed to finish perfecting my time management skills within the
examination environment (as with very few modifications the script went from a little over 8 minutes
to 12 minutes), this thereby significantly affected my achievement in all criteria – whether A & B, where
I was limited due to time in my answering capabilities, thus preventing me from achieving the 10 in
both, and in C & D, where I took too long to articulate my ideas, as imposed by stress, nerves and
difficulty talking after practicing for many, many, many hours prior to presentation. However
surprisingly enough my balance was still intact with other elements maintaining a few minutes in
between each other.
Text 4: Great Gatsby
After finishing the unit covering our third text of Duffy’s poems (the
world’s wife) and the wide body of work applicable to her poems (whether
it be Ms. Magazine, or Banksy → in regard to her work “Selling
Manhattan”), we now moved onto our fourth text, the novel titled the
Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the height of the roaring
twenties in the United States, and the aftermath of the first world war. The
novel of the Great Gatsby revolves around American society (specifically
the American dream) and living in the New World, and the complex
relationship America has with Europe and the values of the Old World as
indicated through the struggle of the old and new rich. The brazenly lavish
culture of West Egg reflects the new prosperity that was possible during
Prohibition, when illegal schemes involving the black-market selling of
liquor abounded. Such criminal enterprises are the source of Gatsby’s
income and finance his incredible parties, which are probably based on
parties Fitzgerald himself attended when he lived on Long Island in the
early 1920s.

Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald?

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American short-story writer and novelist
famous for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the roaring twenties), and
specifically his novel written in 1925 - The Great Gatsby. Whereby as a
member of the Lost Generation (who were the social generational
cohort that was in early adulthood during World War I, and spent many
years disoriented, wandering, directionless in the years of the post war
and interwar period), whereby he was drafted into the military at the
wane of the first world war, where he was stationed near
Montgomery, Alabama. His time during the war, most likely gave him
the inspiration for many of the experiences witnessed by the main
characters of Gatsby including Nick and Gatsby himself. Where the
narrator of Nick feels like an extension of Fitzgerald, in regard to
experience and certain views regarding the unattainability of the
American dream, and even their own background (both coming from
the Midwest and having that approach towards the east).

Summary of the novel:

In the novel The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick Carraway recounts the story of Jay Gatsby, one of the
richest men in the West Egg. Gatsby was born into a poor family but came to obtain extravagant wealth
through his work with Dan Cody, a millionaire. Gatsby’s desire for wealth was driven by his dream for
the love of Daisy Buchanan. Although Gatsby was able to acquire great wealth, he never acquired
Daisy’s love in the end. In fact, his dream for Daisy is what ultimately led to his destruction, thereby
depicting Fitzgerald’s view on the unattainability and façade of the American Dream. Through this
novel, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream cannot be fully attained because those who believe
in it are constantly striving for something better than themselves. He demonstrates that it is dangerous
for one to reach for something more than what is given and expresses the idea that if people become
so involved in materialistic things, they are not guaranteed happiness. Gatsby’s desire to achieve more
than what he had ultimately led to his downfall, demonstrating that infinite success is not possible, as
portrayed in the stock market crash preceding the Great Depression, representing the clear
embodiment of that dream (born poor and rose to achieve significant wealth and social status. Gatsby’s
love for Daisy led him to achieve extravagant wealth. In the sense of rising up social rank and obtaining
financial success, Gatsby achieved the American Dream. Despite the wealth that Gatsby achieved,
Fitzgerald conveys that materialism of the American Dream does not guarantee happiness.

Questions on Gatsby
In order to better understand the plot of the novel in such a short time crunch (as the EOY exam was
coming up, and we were still significantly behind in class) which limited class discussions and analysis
as a class; and thus we solved certain questions about the chapters of Gatsby (where I also scoured the
material given to us in class such as “A Blanket of Prose: style and meaning” and the York notes to fully
immerse myself into the material). Below are some of the questions answered in class and my own
time to better grasp the picture portrayed in Gatsby:

1. How does Nick describe himself at the beginning of the book?

Nick describes himself as tolerant and non judgemental about people (which is a trait he got from his
dad), which generally causes them to trust and confide in him in later chapters. He is also restless,
seeking something he cannot name.

2. Why has Nick come to the East?

Nick went to the East because he describes the Middle West (which is where he used to live) as "the
ragged edge of the universe". He did not seem to enjoy where he was living anymore and he was
interested in starting a life of his own somewhere else.

3. How does Nick describe Tom Buchanan?

Tom is described throughout the passage by Nick as aggressive, arrogant, and wealthy. He thinks he
can sound smart if he reads complicated books with long words in them and that people will think he's
smart if they see him reading that. He is further described as a “Sturdy straw haired man of thirty with
a rather hand mouth and a supercilious manner”

4. Who is Jordan Baker? What does Nick find appealing about her?

Within Chapter one we are introduced to Jordan Baker who is Daisy's friend who is a competitive golfer.
She is boyish, cynical, hard and direct, which are qualities that enable her to be self-sufficient, which is
what Nick finds appealing in her.

5. How does Daisy react to the phone calls from Tom’s woman in New York?

At first, when Tom is called away, Daisy ignores it, only seeming to react as the call had "quickened
something within her." However, after calling Nick "a rose" and saying it was delight to have him there,
she gets up from the table and goes into the house. When she comes back with Tom, Daisy babbles a
bit about how "romantic" the evening is. She is obviously rattled by the phone call, but tries to play it
off in high spirits and ignore it at that particular moment. It isn't until after dinner, when Nick goes
outside with Daisy, that she betrays some of what she was really feeling by revealing “Well, I’ve had a
very bad time, Nick, and I’m pretty cynical about everything.”It is clear that Daisy is fully aware of her
husband's indiscretions, and is unhappy. She goes on to talk about her daughter, and says that she
wishes her daughter would grow up a "fool". Daisy suggests here that to be a fool would be to have
happiness - as if she believes that if she didn't know about Tom's woman, she herself would be happier.

6. What is Gatsby doing when Nick first sees him?

In the first chapter, Nick got invited to dinner at his cousin’s Daisy place in East Egg. After the evening,
he goes back home to the West Egg, where he meets Gatsby for the first time, when going back home
from a party at the Buchanan house. He notices Gatsby mysteriously standing on the lawn with his
hands stretched forward. It seems like he was watching the stars, but then it becomes clear that he
glazes at the green light. Nick is thinking about whether he should introduce himself to the new
neighbor.

7. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?

He does this to place emphasis on one of the key tenants and themes essential to life during the
consumerist nature of the 1920s reflected in Great Gatsby which is the idea of the American Dream

8. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy's house?

It is early June 6-8th because daisy mentions that in two weeks it would be the longest day of the year
otherwise known as the summer solstice which is on the 21st of june during the year of 1922.

9. Describe Nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of
a narrator do you think he will be?

Nick comes from a prominent family and is fairly smart since he is a graduate of Yale. He seems to be
a kind, non-judgmental person. Which does give him the capability to be fairly reliable and tell the
narrative from an honest point of view, however his kind nature could make him prone to becoming
unreliable regarding the description of any of the characters.

10. What image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What does it mean?

She is described as "completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing
something on it which was quite likely to fall." She has "autumn-leaf yellow" hair, a firm athletic body,
and an aloof attitude. She is seen as someone who is snobbish." Jordan's name is also symbolic. Her
first and last names are fittingly the names of cars during the Roaring 20s. Jordan uses automobiles
carelessly just like the rest of the rich, and so she represents Old Money society smashing up the other
"unfortunate" humans who get in their way.

11. How does Nick react to Jordan?

Nick describes Jordan as a fundamentally dishonest person; he even knows that she cheated in her first
golf tournament. Nick feels attracted to her despite her dishonesty, even though he himself claims to
be one of the few honest people he has ever known, whereby this compels him to feel as though he
should apologize to her feeling as though he disturbed her.

12. What does Tom's behavior reveal about his character?

Tom’s brutish personality relates to the larger arc of his life. According to Nick, Tom peaked very early
in his life. He was a nationally known football star in his youth, but after his time in the spotlight ended
and fame faded away, everything else in Tom’s life felt like “an anticlimax.” In Chapter 1 Nick posits
that Tom has always sought to recapture the thrill of his youth, and his failure to do so infuses his life
with a sense of melancholy. It is perhaps this sense of melancholy that contributes to Tom’s evident
victim complex.

13. How does Nick meet Tom’s mistress?

It is a Sunday afternoon and Nick is traveling into the city with Tom Buchanan. As the train rumbles
through the Valley of Ashes, Tom tells Nick that they are getting off because he wants to introduce "his
girl." After getting off the train, Tom takes Nick to Wilson's garage where they meet Myrtle, Tom's
mistress.

14. How does Myrtle react to Tom’s arrival?

Myrtle seems full of life and lively. She walks sensually down the stairs. She was clearly awaiting his
arrival.

15. Describe George Wilson. How does he react to Tom’s arrival?

George is described with blond hair and light blue eyes. He is spiritless, and gray from being in the
Valley of Ashes alluding to his degree of poverty. He seems hopeful for something that Tom may bring
(we're led to believe it has something to do with a car that Tom was going to sell him).

16. How does Myrtle behave as the party progresses?

At the party organized by Tom Buchanan, she is present and drinking with the other guests. The readers
can note that Myrtle is quite sexual in her appearance. But has a harsh voice and wild mannerisms. In
the beginning, she talks rather lively, feeling natural and sincere, as noted by the narrator. When the
other guests arrive, however, she changes both her outfit and behavior. Wearing a cream-colored
dress, Myrtle adopts a mask of deception and changes her gestures. With her speech and action, she
tries to impress others while appearing genuine. When receiving compliments about her dress, she
dismisses it as being old. But her other dresses are of the same quality. Myrtle changes her behavior
based on the people around her and the setting. She puts on the air of a socialite to impress others.

17. Why, according to Catherine, has Tom not left Daisy to marry Myrtle?

The reason that Catherine believes that Tom has not divorce Daisy is because Daisy is a catholic and it
will go against her religion to divorce.

18. Why did Tom break Myrtle’s nose? How is this consistent with the author’s description of him in
Chapter I? Judging by his treatment of Myrtle and his wife Daisy, what seems to be Tom’s attitude
toward women?

Myrtle was getting drunk at the party shouting about her new puppy and then she mentions Daisy.
Tom tells her not to say his wife's name but instead, she is now chanting it and Tom, full of rage, breaks
her nose. This shows that Tom's body is a "cruel body", and he had the appearance of "always leaning
aggressively forward" this shows that his appearance of an aggressive person is true. He embodies the
ideals of a toxic masculine man, where he misogynistically believes that clearly men are better than
women giving him the right to make them do what he wishes; that they are there to serve him.

19. Describe the "valley of ashes." What does it look like and what does it represent?

At the beginning of chapter two, Fitzgerald writes that there is an area halfway between West Egg and
New York City called “the valley of ashes.” He describes it as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like
wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys
and rising smoke, and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already
crumbling through the powdery air”. The valley of ashes symbolizes poverty, hopelessness, and the
death of dreams. It is a poverty-stricken area where people like George Wilson work hard but never
get ahead enough to pursue their dreams. Their dreams have been quashed by the bleak reality of their
situation and lay dormant under the ash and grime that covers everything in their midst; as Fitzgerald
writes, the men (and women) who live there “move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery
air”

20. Describe Mr. Wilson and Myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting?

Mr. Wilson is a man who has blond hair. Mr. Wilson is a spiritless man probably because he is suffering
from some type of anaemia. Mr. Wilson does seem to fit into the setting because he spends a lot of his
time working. Myrtle is woman in her thirties, and is a thick woman. Myrtle does not seem to fit into
the setting because she spends a lot of her time spending money, and hanging out at parties.

21. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people
he spends his time with?

What we learned about Nick in this chapter is that he does whatever he is told to do. He does not really
think for himself whenever it comes to making decisions. Nick is different from the people he spends
his time with because he does not go to a lot of parties. He always does not drink as much as everyone
else that he hangs out with, and he does not have a woman on the side.

Reflection after finishing the book

After finishing the novel, The Great Gatsby, by Scott Fitzgerald, I was able to go on a journey with the
story throughout the twists and turns of the 9 different chapters of the novel. Going into the novel I
didn’t know what to expect from the story, especially due to the overtly descriptive and tense but
otherwise quiet first chapter. However, as Gatsby story began to be told and his platonic conception
slowly unravel him as a simple man stuck in the mindset of seventeen-year-old boy, did the puzzle and
the themes of the American dream and the old vs. new rich slowly interweave and connect with society
during the 1920s. Whereby the theme of the American dream has always been widespread, especially
within my circle of the middle east, and other people living in third world countries where the prospect
of getting and rising for a better life was always appealing and contributed to the mass brain drain
affecting Jordan’s labor. Also, as someone living in an LEDC (least economically developed country),
the idea of class stratification is clearly depicted throughout the middle east, as the top 1% hold onto
all the power and wealth, whilst the rest are forced to overcome the insurmountable challenges
imposed by such a society (especially one influenced by high rates of corruption and nepotism).

Plan for paper 2 & practice for EOY exam

Once we found out that the EOY exam was to be on a full paper 2 (even though we lacked time or
sufficient practice to properly perfect or understand the innate structure of a full paper two) it was
imperative that we start practicing and planning for the paper 2. Accordingly using the question
below, I partnered up with a friend and planned out the overall essay and answer to such a question.

The depiction of violence in some form (cultural, political, physical, psychological, etc.) is a central
preoccupation of many works of literature. In two of the works, you have studied compare and contrast
how violence is depicted and explore its significance.

Death and the maiden - types of violence: psychological + poli/cul

Introduction
Paragraph 1: psychological violence and its significance →
• Paulina’s metamorphosis
o She was in control when she chose to start helping the people before she was raped
o How she finally was able to leave the house
o Use of light/moonlight → haunting power of the past
o Paulina, can’t listen to schubert, (a part of her died), but at the end she can… she wants
to reclaim her schubert, her husband
o Use of profanity indicates metamorphosis
• Cycle of violence → victim to victimizer → significance → the context where dorfman wants to
avoid a repetition of the past
o Schubert
▪ Cycle of violence
▪ Dramatic irony
o The Gun symbolism
▪ Paulina: controls destiny when posing violence
▪ Paulina imposes the gun to force conversation (roberto’s confession)
▪ Roberto and Gerardo: cannot control destiny because Paulina holds the power
▪ Irony
▪ Stage directions
▪ Foreshadowing at the beginning, how it represents her control

Paragraph 2: political violence and its significance

• Microcosm
o Epigraph → further explain context
o Symbolism of the three characters
▪ Roberto → the army that caused the political violence
▪ Gerardo → the mediator that tries prevent the perpetuation of political
violence
▪ Paulina → the victim that perpetuates violence
• Symbolism of the tape recorder
o Change from dictatorship to democracy
o Rettig commission
• The mirror
o Breaking of the fourth wall + audience imperatives
o Post modernist device

Gatsby - types of violence: psychological & cultural

Paragraph 1: psychological violence & its significance

• Platonic conception
o Symbolism of house
▪ Green light
o Characterization
▪ Lying
o Motif of trauma and psychological loss
o Repetition of “old sport”
o Irony of the title

Paragraph 2: cultural violence

• Theme of american dream and how it causes the events of the story
 o East and West egg symbolism
▪ representation of old and new money
o Gatsby’s death
▪ Imagery of his death
▪ Funeral - *no one came*
o Valley of ashes
o Symbolism of myrtle’s character
▪ Her death & the cultural misogynistic violence she faced
o First person POV
▪ Nick is an unreliable narrator
▪ Cynical tone

Compare and contrast:

Similarities
• Psychological and physical violence
• Paulina and gatsby both become the things that caused their psychological trauma - gatsby
became “new rich/wealthy” and paulina became the victimiser
o Inability to move on - rewrite the past, they are both obsessed with the representations
of their pasts
o They both want to resolve the issues of their pasts and don’t get closure
o Violence in a relationship because of psychological trauma → paulina and gerardo, tom
and daisy
o Significance of titles
Differences:
• Political vs cultural
o Contrast the use stylistic devices

Quotations for the exam:

• DATM: Quote by dorfman: “Memory of the past is counter to those like military leaders who would
obliterate others, who would forget them, ignore them, neglect them, erase them from the earth
• She hurriedly stands up… the lights blasting her. Was she pretty at least? Sexy?
• hides gun away. She stands behind the curtains. I knew that you’d find someone to help you out.
• if you were to have a relapse, it could leave me...“I was wild and fearless, willing to do anything.
• Only the most serious cases? Only the most serious? Beyond repair. Irreparable, huh?
• Poor little, baby, silly girl
• “As soon as I stop pointing the gun at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If I put it down
you’ll use his strength to win the argument”
• I already told you—put him on trial.
• Because of your mad wife, who was mad because she stayed silent and is now mad because she can
speak?
• You’re still a prisoner, you stayed there behind with them, locked in that basement. For fifteen years
you’ve done nothing with your life. Not a thing. Look at you, just when we’ve got the chance to start
all over again and you begin to open all the wounds
• “I haven’t opened my mouth to even whisper a breath of what I’m thinking, years living in terror of my
own…but I’m not dead, I thought I was but I’m not and I can speak, damn it – so for God’s sake let me
have my say.”
• "When crazy people have power, you've got to indulge them."sacrifice”... “concede” “bite her tongue”
• What do we lose? What do we lose by killing one of them? "People can die from an excessive dose of
truth."
• To put it brutally, you are her therapy, Doctor. Fantasies of a diseased mind. She could have latched
onto any man who came through that door
• why the bitch instead of the father who taught them in the first place to
• An eye for an eye, a tooth for and tooth, right, isn’t that our philosophy?
• So I can listen to my Schubert without thinking that you’ll also be listening to it, spoiling my day and
my Schubert and my country and my husband.
• "So someone did terrible things to you and now you’re doing something terrible to me and tomorrow
somebody else is going to – on and on and on.”
• The idea is that if we can throw light on the worst crimes, other abuses will also come to light.
(moonlight)
• Gatsby: the consoling proximity of millionaires… east egg→ white palaces… that familiar conviction
that life was beginning over again with the summer’
• Daisy opens up in a flower-like way… inclined to reserve all judgements… the absence of all desire…
‘impersonal eyes’... ‘with an awed expression’... Doctor Eckleburg’s bespectacled eyes
• a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”, “leaden
spades”
• “Ashes”, “an impenetrable cloud of smoke”, “powdery air”... “spiritless man, anemic” “he turned up in
popular restaurants with her”
• You can buy anything from a drugstore nowadays’ – Tom … ‘Come on Daisy I’ll take you in this circus
car’ - Tom
• ‘I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr.Nobody from nowhere make love to your wife. Well
if that’s the idea you can count me out’ - Tom to Gatsby
• ‘I just got wised up to something funny the last two days… That’s why I want to get away. That’s why I
been bothering you about the car’ – Wilson
• ‘Lived at West Egg, the - well, the least fashionable of the two’ – Nick
• 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful
little fool.’ – Daisy
• "Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now—isn't that enough? I can't help what's
past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once—but I loved you too’ – Gatsby
• ‘Where’s Tom Gone?’ - Daisy looking around uneasy
• ‘He’s a bootlegger - said the young lady moving somewhere between his cocktails and his flowers - one
time he killed a man - said the other’ - Party Goes
• ‘Myrtles eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed on not Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took
to be his wife’
• Your wife doesn't love you, she never loved you. She loves me.’ – Gatsby
• "Was Daisy driving?""Yes," he said after a moment, "but of course I’ll say I was. You see, when we left
New York she was very nervous and she thought it would steady her to drive. And this woman rushed
out at us as we were passing a car coming the other way’ - Tom
• In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne
and the stars’ … Meyer Wolfsheim … See how the whole front of it catches the light?’ … (moonlight)
• ‘period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk’ … shiftless and unsuccessful farm people’.... ‘his
imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all’
• Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself’ the unreality of
reality… You can’t repeat the past’... Why of course you can!’
• So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight’.... ‘death car’... ‘an Oxford man’... ‘grail’...
vision = ‘distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction’... a huge incoherent failure
• ‘the green light’... “cars”... “books” “Jazz history of the world”... “von hindenburg” … “funeral”
• They were careless people … they smashed up things and then retreated back into their money or their
vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess
they had made